Political Risk:
Low
Score:
73/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
100/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The parliament has the financial, legislative and monitoring powers to approve or veto laws on security, and to reject or amend defence policy. It…
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The future planning of the Swedish defence sector, including the role and budget of defence agencies like the SAF, is set out in a…
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Neither the executive nor the military coerce or unduly influence parliament to vote in their favour. The National Audit Office (NAO) – which reports…
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Q2
88/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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The two authorities with extensive oversight capabilities over the defence sector are the Defence Committee [1] and the Foreign Policy Committee [2]. The committees…
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All political parties are represented in the Defence Committee [1]. It consists of members of parliament who are all equally mandated to influence the…
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The committee reviews major defence policies and decisions such as the Defence Resolution [1], which is presented every 5 years (as outlined in Q1).
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The committee normally meets around 3-5 times per month [1]. It issues budget amendments and recommendations, and prepares parliamentary motions. It also requires ministries…
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The Defence Committee conducts long-term investigations on current activities and follows up on all decisions and bills adopted in parliament, including the Defence Resolutions…
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Ministries and agencies regularly incorporate the Committee’s recommendations into practice, and implementation and performance is reviewed regularly by bodies like the Swedish National Audit…
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Q3
100/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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The Swedish defence policy is discussed and prepared by the government, the Defence Commission, and the Parliamentary Defence Committee, and then debated and passed…
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Discussions in parliament regarding defence policy, including the five year defence resolutions, are in-depth and address topics such as the security threats that the…
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Public consultations on defence policy and the security strategy are a regular occurrence, and an important part of the Defence Committee’s scrutiny. For instance,…
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All documents pertaining to Swedish defence policy are defined as public information and are available to the public according to the Public Access Law…
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Q4
58/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is no official policy that requires defence and security institutions to be open towards Civil Society Ogranisations (CSOs). The Principle of Public Access…
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In accordance with the Swedish constitution [1], CSOs enjoy a range of protections (e.g. rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association) from government interference,…
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Although the government works closely with civil society in other aspects, and there is a strong freedom of association, no evidence can be found…
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Q5
63/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Sweden is a significant defence exporter. According to SIPRI data [1], Sweden was the 15th largest defence exporter in the world in 2019. Measured…
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Sweden has until recently seen major issues of compliance with the OECD convention. The OECD Working Group on Bribery has since 2012 repeatedly urged…
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Q6
75/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Outside government, there is regular public debate among academics, journalists, opinion-formers, and CSOs about defence issues. Note can be made of the annual Folk…
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The government engages in regular discussion with the public about defence issues through open forums [1] [2] (see also Q3), as well as an active…
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Q7
25/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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Q8
75/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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There are no agencies specifically addressing the issue of corruption within the defence and security establishments. However, both internal (see also Q16) and external…
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Auditing institutions like the National Audit Office (NAO) [1] are not in the chain of command of the defence and security institutions which they…
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The auditing institution NAO works across government sectors and understands the corruption risks tied to each area, including security and defence. However, as they…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. The public view is that there is a clear commitment from the defence establishment…
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Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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No defence-specific assessment of corruption risk has been commissioned or taken place in the last 2-3 years [1] [2].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as no defence-specific assessment of corruption risk has been commissioned or taken place in the last 2-3 years…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as no defence-specific assessment of corruption risk has been commissioned or taken place in the last 2-3 years…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
100/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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A clear process for the entire acquisition planning cycle is in place, with separated internal acquisition planning functions, e.g., budget, commercial, and finance. The…
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The public is able to access information about the process itself in line with the Public Access Law [1]. Beyond this general principle, detailed…
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The National Audit Office [1] reports to the parliament and provides a strong external oversight function, assessing the country’s long-term acquisition plans, their legitimacy and likelihood…
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Q12
100/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The defence budget [1] contains comprehensive and disaggregated information on expenditure across functions, including information on personnel, military R&D, training, construction, procurement/acquisitions, maintenance of…
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In September each year, the government presents the proposed budget for the forthcoming year to the parliament – i.e. 4 months before the start…
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Q13
100/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Constitutional Committee and the parliament’s other committees such as the Defence Committee and the Foreign Policy Committee have extensive formal rights of scrutiny…
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Before MPs vote on budget bills in the beginning of each calendar year, parliamentary committees like the Defence Comittee debate the government’s budget propositions…
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Q14
100/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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All Swedish citizens have the right under the Principle of Public Access to Official Documents [1] to access defence-related information. After having been debated…
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The vast majority of the approved defence budget [1] is fully disclosed to the media and civil society actors. There may be exceptions made for…
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According to the Law on the Freedom of the Press [1], information on public documents should be made available when requested. Information requested by…
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Q15
50/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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In the FMV annual reports [1] [2] [3], there is full publication of the amounts of royalties and related forms of income. However, information on…
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Mechanisms of scrutiny are in place and administered by the National Audit Office who review all budgets and annual reports in the defence sector…
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There has been some scrutiny by the media, political opposition, and CSOs in previous years of FMV’s transparency issues with regards to royalties (Q15A)…
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Q16
75/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The government’s internal auditing is carried out by the National Financial Management Authority (ESV) [1] which engages in ongoing reviews of all state expenditures.…
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Oversight occurs for sensitive or critical issues. ESV produce reports on state expenditures that are non-redacted and made publicly available [1], which allow decision…
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As the government’s internal auditing function, the ESV, is a separate agency under the Ministry of Finance, and is therefore regularly scrutinised by the…
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The government and defence minister regularly addresses ESV findings in their practices [1]. For instance, in 2017, ESV recommendations urged the government to initiate…
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Q17
94/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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The National Audit Office (NAO) is the external auditor responsible for reviewing ‘the whole chain of executive power’ [1], including the defence sector and…
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The NAO is independent of the executive, and its formal rights are protected by the constitution (Chapter 13 §7-9) and two additional laws on…
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NAO reports are published online proactively and within a reasonable timeline. Defence agencies’ annual reports and budgets are typically audited for 3-4 months before…
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The government, MoD, and defence agencies regularly address audit findings. During the studied time period, NAO have published a review of the MoD and…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
83/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Defence institutions are largely, but not entirely, prohibited by statutory means [1] from having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural…
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No evidence can be found that defence institutions are involved in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource exploitation [1].
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No evidence can be found of cases of defence institutions or individual personnel being involved in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource exploitation…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no evidence can be found of cases of defence institutions or individual personnel being involved…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no evidence can be found of cases of defence institutions or individual personnel being involved…
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Organised Crime
Q19
75/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRÅ) [1] have noted no cases of military involvement in organised crime during the studied time period, and…
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The government and Armed Forces are aware of the possibility of organised crime in the defence and security sector. The Military Police seems to…
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Q20
75/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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The ‘national anti-corruption group’ within the police [1] works towards preventing bribery and corruption, and investigates corruption offences across all government agencies. The police…
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Whereas the Police’s national anti-corruption group is nominally independent, the Military Police is tasked by the Armed Forces [1] [2]. Since it is a…
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Cases investigated by the Police and Military Police are prosecuted through formal processes in accordance with the Swedish Penal Code [1]. To increase accountablity,…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
100/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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Oversight of intelligence agencies in Sweden has been split between a number of bodies, both parliamentary and expert. The parliamentary Committee on Justice [1]…
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The oversight bodies meet regularly to review the budget and expenditures, personnel issues, policies, practices, and legal compliance of the intelligence services. The parliamentary…
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Q22
75/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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Appointment power is exercised by the government in accordance with the constitution [1] and the appointment policy [2]. The law includes clear and objective…
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The appointment system has been criticised for lack of impartiality, as many agency directors have had clear links to the ruling party [1]. Political…
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Whereas most senior positions within the agency system are openly advertised, the chiefs of the police, security services, and armed forces are not identified…
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Export Controls
Q23
75/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Sweden has both signed and ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2014 [1].
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The country has complied with each of the three ATT articles [1].
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Upcoming arms export deals are not subject to parliamentary debate. The government agency Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) is solely responsible for all export…
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Lobbying in Defence
The country has no framework for regulating lobbying activity. Companies can freely join defence industry associations such as the Swedish Security and Defence Industry…
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Since Sweden has no framework for regulating lobbying activity [1] [2] [3], this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
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Since Sweden has no framework for regulating lobbying activity [1] [2] [3], this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
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Since Sweden has no framework for regulating lobbying activity [1] [2] [3], this indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’.
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