Exercises for developing civil-military collaboration capability: A constructive alignment analysis

Abstract

Following the Cold War, Sweden adopted a doctrine promoting perpetual peace, resulting in significant reductions in military defense capabilities and the dismantling of civil defense infrastructure. However, geopolitical events such as the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted Sweden to reassess its security posture in 2015, leading to the reconstruction of total defense, and an emphasis on collaboration between the civilian and military defense sectors. Exercises have been instrumental in fostering civil-military collaboration capability. This study aims to investigate whether these exercises are effective in enhancing capability for civil-military collaboration. Data collection involved participant observation during seven exercises and was analyzed using constructive alignment (CA). Findings indicate that the exercises did not yield discernible learning outcomes, and this is attributed to the Swedish principles of responsibility, deficiencies in CA, contextual support, and entrenched defensive routines.