Doctrinal descriptions of Stabilization : Same challenge- different articulations in Swedish and French doctrines

Abstract: The Swedish armed forces’ doctrinal documents are currently under review, where the Doctrine for Land Forces will together with the doctrines for Navy and Air force be reissued into one common operative doctrine 2013. This essay can be seen as a possible interjection in order to facilitate the work with the new Swedish operative doctrine, by analyzing doctrinal articulated descriptions and know-hows from the French Army in the context of stability operations. Since, what fundamentally differentiates stabilization from the pacification operations of the past is the end state where the local authorities and population retake the ownership of their country. The French doctrines contain a significant higher level of details regarding the tactical methods and principles, such as the Oil spots, Quadrillage, Force and Influence ratio, and the measures for how the actual re-construction and re-building should take place. This compared to the Swedish doctrinal document that mainly involves the initial stages of intervention and laying the foundations for further development. The gap between these phases and the desired end-state of peace is vaguely described, which can be characterized as a mayor difference.