Humanities Knowledge in Swedish Defense Research: Human Sciences at FOA 5
This project is concerned with the impact of humanities knowledge. It studies how humanities knowledge developed a modern role as a contributor to social development in the post-war period. It focuses on attempts to turn humanities into ‘applied’ knowledge for crisis and disaster management, and for building secure and sustainable societies. According to a common view, the humanities lost much of its propensity in the latter half of the twentieth century. The driving hypothesis in this project is instead that humanities knowledge developed on arenas between the university, politics, the public sector, industry and society. These arenas were not explicitly defined as humanistic. They have largely been overlooked in the research on the impact of humanities knowledge. This project studies one such arena. The purpose of the project is to study humanities knowledge in Swedish defense research during the Cold War, focusing on the Swedish National Defense Research Institute (FOA) and the Department of Human Sciences (Avdelningen för humanvetenskap), FOA 5, 1974–1989. The project explores knowledge that FOA 5 produced about human society, how the research was organized, prioritized, distributed as well as its impact. The aim of the project is to create new insights on the significance of humanistic knowledge in the Swedish sectorial research and in the building of modern Sweden. Theoretically, the project builds on, and contributes to, the concept of co-production.
Final report
The aim of the project “Humanities Knowledge in Swedish Defense Research: Human Sciences at FOA 5” has been to create new insights on the significance of the humanities in Swedish sectorial research and in the building of modern Sweden. The purpose of the project has been to study humanities knowledge in Swedish defense research during the Cold War, focusing on the Swedish National Defense Research Establishment (FOA) and the Department of Human Sciences at FOA, 1974–1989.
The project has largely followed the purpose and objectives described in the project application. In several articles, I have investigated the development and use of knowledge usually associated with the humanities, for example, history, philosophy, language, and cultural studies such as ethnology. I have focused on knowledge that was developed for the civil defense and the management of risks and threats in peacetime such as industrial breakdowns, problems regarding electricity supply, and major accidents. The analyses have been informed by foucauldian theories of governmentality and biopolitics rather than co-production which was the original plan. The empirical scope has also expanded and extends into the 1990s and connects more clearly with the present situation. The research results have been published in academic journals and anthologies aimed at both international and Swedish audiences. All publications are open access. The project has mainly been based on national material such as published research and other FOA material, governmental commissions, policy documentation, and interviews.
Firstly, the project has contributed new insights into how humanities knowledge has been organized and developed in policy-oriented research environments at FOA during the post-war period. The project shows that humanities knowledge was developed at research institutions outside universities that were not described in terms of humanities faculties. The project has contributed to a better view of how humanities knowledge production has been developed at an intersection between universities, the state and society. At the same time, a contribution is made to a better understanding of how knowledge and expertise developed in the Swedish state more generally. I have highlighted the scope for defense researchers to critically examine state power within the framework of an applied defense research agenda. I have also illuminated connections between the critical examination of state power and the efforts to improve the Swedish defense. Parts of the research that was developed and used in the defense context was intended to promote and safeguard democracy and the critical public debate. The project brings light on the difficulties of using categories developed for university contexts to study the influence of the humanities in policy-oriented domains outside universities.
Secondly, the project has highlighted the importance of humanities knowledge in relation to safety and preparedness policy. According to a common view, the humanities have primarily provided an “outsider perspective” on political governance. This project paints a different picture. The project sheds light on how knowledge that has been developed in humanities disciplines has come to serve as a tool for the Swedish state regarding the handling of, for example, propaganda, misleading information, and so-called information campaigns. Skills for interpreting text, images, and symbols – which are a cornerstone of the humanities – are also key in the Swedish psychological defense. Among other things, the project brings light on how philosophical and historical research methods have had a bearing on Swedish security policy and contributed to the effort of providing the Swedish population with knowledge of source criticism, text assessment and argumentation analysis to master an unpredictable political environment. At the same time, the project draws attention to the potential of humanities disciplines in relation to contemporary preparedness. The project provides empirical insights into an ongoing discussion about what constitutes relevant knowledge in the fields of preparedness, risk assessment and crisis management.
Thirdly, the project has produced new knowledge about Swedish defense research and its role in Swedish society. As mentioned, I have mainly focused on the relationship and influence of defense research on the Swedish civil defense. Given the scope and extent of the civil defense, humanities knowledge played a part in contexts that had major significance in Swedish society. The project provides insights into the importance of humanities knowledge in areas that are commonly associated with technical knowledge and natural science expertise. It contributes new insights about the supply of knowledge and complements previous research on the relationships between FOA and the public sector, as well as the relationship between defense research and the military industry.
The project contributes to ongoing national and international research on processes and actors that have advanced the importance and influence of the humanities, historically and in the present. Instead of focusing on the exclusion of the humanities, this research sheds light on contexts in which humanists have had an influence and the conditions of that impact. This project contributes with new case studies, empirical evidence, and approaches, and enables comparisons between contexts and countries. The research results connect with contemporary and historical situations.
I have participated in several research collaborations that have explored the historical and contemporary importance of the humanities outside universities. For instance, in work carried out at the Centre for Knowledge History, Lund University, the research platform “Making Universities Matter” at Lund University and KTH, and a research collaboration on the history, organization and impact of the humanities that has been organized from the Department of History of Science and Ideas at Uppsala University.
The project has an international component through the institutional contacts between the Division of History at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology and its network of contacts with researchers and research institutions abroad. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic led to the cancellation of several national and international conferences. The project results have been communicated to an audience outside university settings through, for instance, KTH’s digital channels for distributing research results. A blog post at Humtank, the Swedish think tank for research and education in the humanities, has helped anchor the project in the contemporary efforts to develop and strengthen the current position of the humanities.
Several new research questions have been developed based on the research results about, for instance, the knowledge needs of defense and preparedness agents and the significance of the humanities in relation for instance to challenges or emergencies that extreme weather conditions give rise to.
The project has largely followed the purpose and objectives described in the project application. In several articles, I have investigated the development and use of knowledge usually associated with the humanities, for example, history, philosophy, language, and cultural studies such as ethnology. I have focused on knowledge that was developed for the civil defense and the management of risks and threats in peacetime such as industrial breakdowns, problems regarding electricity supply, and major accidents. The analyses have been informed by foucauldian theories of governmentality and biopolitics rather than co-production which was the original plan. The empirical scope has also expanded and extends into the 1990s and connects more clearly with the present situation. The research results have been published in academic journals and anthologies aimed at both international and Swedish audiences. All publications are open access. The project has mainly been based on national material such as published research and other FOA material, governmental commissions, policy documentation, and interviews.
Firstly, the project has contributed new insights into how humanities knowledge has been organized and developed in policy-oriented research environments at FOA during the post-war period. The project shows that humanities knowledge was developed at research institutions outside universities that were not described in terms of humanities faculties. The project has contributed to a better view of how humanities knowledge production has been developed at an intersection between universities, the state and society. At the same time, a contribution is made to a better understanding of how knowledge and expertise developed in the Swedish state more generally. I have highlighted the scope for defense researchers to critically examine state power within the framework of an applied defense research agenda. I have also illuminated connections between the critical examination of state power and the efforts to improve the Swedish defense. Parts of the research that was developed and used in the defense context was intended to promote and safeguard democracy and the critical public debate. The project brings light on the difficulties of using categories developed for university contexts to study the influence of the humanities in policy-oriented domains outside universities.
Secondly, the project has highlighted the importance of humanities knowledge in relation to safety and preparedness policy. According to a common view, the humanities have primarily provided an “outsider perspective” on political governance. This project paints a different picture. The project sheds light on how knowledge that has been developed in humanities disciplines has come to serve as a tool for the Swedish state regarding the handling of, for example, propaganda, misleading information, and so-called information campaigns. Skills for interpreting text, images, and symbols – which are a cornerstone of the humanities – are also key in the Swedish psychological defense. Among other things, the project brings light on how philosophical and historical research methods have had a bearing on Swedish security policy and contributed to the effort of providing the Swedish population with knowledge of source criticism, text assessment and argumentation analysis to master an unpredictable political environment. At the same time, the project draws attention to the potential of humanities disciplines in relation to contemporary preparedness. The project provides empirical insights into an ongoing discussion about what constitutes relevant knowledge in the fields of preparedness, risk assessment and crisis management.
Thirdly, the project has produced new knowledge about Swedish defense research and its role in Swedish society. As mentioned, I have mainly focused on the relationship and influence of defense research on the Swedish civil defense. Given the scope and extent of the civil defense, humanities knowledge played a part in contexts that had major significance in Swedish society. The project provides insights into the importance of humanities knowledge in areas that are commonly associated with technical knowledge and natural science expertise. It contributes new insights about the supply of knowledge and complements previous research on the relationships between FOA and the public sector, as well as the relationship between defense research and the military industry.
The project contributes to ongoing national and international research on processes and actors that have advanced the importance and influence of the humanities, historically and in the present. Instead of focusing on the exclusion of the humanities, this research sheds light on contexts in which humanists have had an influence and the conditions of that impact. This project contributes with new case studies, empirical evidence, and approaches, and enables comparisons between contexts and countries. The research results connect with contemporary and historical situations.
I have participated in several research collaborations that have explored the historical and contemporary importance of the humanities outside universities. For instance, in work carried out at the Centre for Knowledge History, Lund University, the research platform “Making Universities Matter” at Lund University and KTH, and a research collaboration on the history, organization and impact of the humanities that has been organized from the Department of History of Science and Ideas at Uppsala University.
The project has an international component through the institutional contacts between the Division of History at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology and its network of contacts with researchers and research institutions abroad. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic led to the cancellation of several national and international conferences. The project results have been communicated to an audience outside university settings through, for instance, KTH’s digital channels for distributing research results. A blog post at Humtank, the Swedish think tank for research and education in the humanities, has helped anchor the project in the contemporary efforts to develop and strengthen the current position of the humanities.
Several new research questions have been developed based on the research results about, for instance, the knowledge needs of defense and preparedness agents and the significance of the humanities in relation for instance to challenges or emergencies that extreme weather conditions give rise to.