Motivation bland värnpliktiga när världsordningen förändras: En intervjustudie om hur värnpliktigas motivation till fortsatt yrkesmilitärt arbete påverkas.

Abstract

This study takes its starting point in ongoing changes and differences in the global power dynamics. The liberal rules-based world order that has been acknowledged for governing the world with the US as the hegemon of power has been strongly challenged during the last decades. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can be seen as an example of ongoing changes in the world order, with Russia as a challenger to the US as the hegemon of power. The changes and instability that this has led to for Sweden's national security situation can be seen as a concrete example of how ongoing changes in the world order affect Sweden’s foreign policy. On the 7th of march 2024 Sweden became a fullworth member of the defense alliance ’North Atlantic Treaty Organization’ (NATO). To further understand the effects of Sweden’s entry to Nato, this study has examined what motivates conscripts to continue further military service and how Sweden's entry to Nato has affected conscripts motivation to continue further military service. This has been done by using the self determination theory (SDT) to further evaluate how to understand what affects motivation. Central in SDT is how the human's basic psychological needs are accommodated, therefore this study focused on how conscripts' need for autonomy, social context and competence is met during their first military service. This is studied through a qualitative study done with semi-structured interviews with conscripts in Sweden. The result indicates that fulfillment of the three basic psychological needs can affect how motivated conscripts are to continue military service.