Sociology at Military Academies

Abstract

This article illustrates the role of sociology at the Swedish military academies. Finding a suitable balance between theoretical and practical education seems to have been a major thread in Swedish officer education from the eighteenth century to the present day. The emphasis has been on education that is closely linked to military war positions, with extensive elements of combat planning and carrying out military operations. But as tasks have changed, areas such as leadership and organizations have become more important, and the positions of sociological theories and perspective have gradually increased. The belief put forward here is that the demand for sociology will increase for two reasons: the current struggle to make Swedish officer education more university-like and, more important, the need for sociological knowledge that will grow the more the Defense Forces will be engaged in the international arena.

Sociology in Military Officer Education

“…The similarity between sociology at civilian universities and military academies is seen in Sweden as well, but here, military sociology is not a major presence in either venue. 43 Modern sociology was replaced by Marxism-Leninism in the Soviet Union during the Soviet period, but the first informal research-oriented seminar on sociology was offered at the Lenin Political Military Academy in the Soviet Union in 1965, which began teaching military sociology to a few students in 1982. 44 Behavioral science was introduced into the curriculum of the Royal Military College in Canada in the 1960s, reflected primarily in psychology courses.…”

“…54 Finally, in Sweden, the study of the military is met with some disdain by academics outside military circles and it is marginalized in the various military academies. 55 Second, many disciplines within military academies have cannibalized entire sociology courses to use in other parts of the curriculum. This cannibalization occurs on two levels.…”

Predicting the Military Career Success of United States Air Force Academy Cadets

“…Thus, the authors hypothesize sociology will play a more important role education at the Swedish military academies in the coming years. 9 Researchers who have studied the United States Air Force Academy have focused on attitudes of cadets and graduates or the integration of women. Examples include "Air Force Academy Graduates and Nongraduates: Attitudes and Self-Concepts" 10 and "Sex Integration of the U.S. Air Force Academy: Changing Roles for Women."…”

Rethinking Civil-Military Collaboration: A Relational Practice Approach to Total Defense in Sweden

“…Since 1996, there has been an "academization" of officers' education or an attempt to link SEDU's research to the officers' program and to international academic quality assurance standards (see e.g. Danielsson & Weibull 2008). Even though the armed forces have let SEDU be responsible for large parts of the internal provision of competence (Informant 24), through for instance the officers' program, they still influence the substance of the same.…”

“…There is also a literature on the issue of the academicization of the military (e.g Berndtsson 2021;Danielsson & Weibull 2008Van de Ven & Johnson 2006).…”