Changing the Armed Forces

Egnell, Robert; Hojem, Petter; Berts, Hannes

doi:10.1057/9781137385055_3

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Following the reorganization of the SAF at the turn of the millennium, from an invasion-based defense organization to an increasingly international and mission-based one, its transnational military cooperation has increased and now includes active cooperation with, e.g., NATO on international missions and participation in the EU battlegroup unit (Egnell et al 2014). …”

Section: Military Structure and Lgbt Public Policy In Swedenmentioning

confidence: 99%

LGBT in the Military: Policy Development in Sweden 1944–2014

Sundevall

Persson

2016

Sex Res Soc Policy

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This article contributes to the growing field of research on military LGBT policy development by exploring the case of Sweden, a non-NATO-member nation regarded as one of the most progressive in terms of the inclusion of LGBT personnel. Drawing on extensive archival work, the article shows that the story of LGBT policy development in the Swedish Armed Forces from 1944 to 2014 is one of long periods of status quo and relative silence, interrupted by leaps of rapid change, occasionally followed by the re-appearance of discriminatory policy. The analysis brings out two periods of significant change, 1971–1979 and 2000–2009, here described as turns in LGBT policy. During the first turn, the military medical regulation protocol’s recommendation to exempt gay men from military service was the key issue. During these years, homosexuality was classified as mental illness, but in the military context it was largely framed in terms of security threats, both on a national level (due to the risk of blackmail) and for the individual homosexual (due to the homophobic military environment). In the second turn, the focus was increasingly shifted from the LGBT individual to the structures, targeting the military organization itself. Furthermore, the analysis shows that there was no ban against LGBT people serving in the Swedish Armed Forces, but that ways of understanding and regulating sexual orientation and gender identity have nonetheless shaped the military organization in fundamental ways, and continue to do so.

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Section: Military Structure and Lgbt Public Policy In Swedenmentioning

confidence: 99%