Arms export in feminist Sweden : A Study of Swedish Arms Exports in the Context of Feminist Foreign Policy

Abstract: This dissertation concerns motivations of the Swedish arms export since the implementation of feminist foreign policy in 2014 until it was discarded in 2022. It contributes to knowledge on the intersection between feminist foreign policy and arms export. Using tools of textual mechanisms, this dissertation has a discursive approach and turns to government justification to explore how the Swedish government and its representatives have motivated arms export. The theoretical framework consists of militarism and gendered language. The findings of the dissertation include narratives on securing the defense capability of the Swedish Armed Forces, maintaining technological competence and references to foreign policy to create legitimacy for arms export. The dissertation also finds that masculinity is used to motivate armament and arms export and language use constructs meaning for motivating and justifying the Swedish defense industry and arms exports.