“What is psychological in psychological defence? Revisiting the Nordic total defence doctrines”
Open accessAbstract
This article examines what is meant by “the psychological” in the total defence doctrines of Finland and Sweden. It argues that the two countries attach markedly different meanings to the term. In Finland, psychological resilience is framed broadly in terms of trust, cohesion, and social stability; in Sweden, psychological defence is defined more narrowly through countering disinformation and safeguarding information integrity. The article further analyses defence will as a concept linking individual motivation, collective resilience, and institutional doctrine. It concludes that greater conceptual clarity would strengthen both academic understanding and policy development by connecting respective doctrines more systematically to relevant psychological and resilience scholarship.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital
Putnam, R. D. (1995) · Journal of Democracy · doi:10.1353/jod.1995.0002 · Cited by 14,037 · see citing works
Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology
Portes, A. (1998) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1 · Cited by 12,037 · see citing works
An Introduction to the Five‐Factor Model and Its Applications
McCrae, R. R., & John, O. P. (1992) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.x · Cited by 6,835 · see citing works
An alternative "description of personality": The Big-Five factor structure.
Goldberg, L. R. (1990) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.59.6.1216 · Cited by 6,652 · see citing works
Community Resilience as a Metaphor, Theory, Set of Capacities, and Strategy for Disaster Readiness
Norris, F. H., Stevens, S. P., Pfefferbaum, B., Wyche, K. F., & Pfefferbaum, R. L. (2008) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9156-6 · Cited by 5,476 · see citing works
The Moral Foundations of Trust
Uslaner, E. M. (2001) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511614934 · Cited by 2,842 · see citing works
Psychological Resilience: A Review and Critique of Definitions, Concepts, and Theory
Fletcher, D., & Sarkar, M. (2013) · European Psychologist · doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000124 · Cited by 2,547 · see citing works
Social Capital and Community Resilience
Aldrich, D. P., & Meyer, M. A. (2015) · American Behavioral Scientist · doi:10.1177/0002764214550299 · Cited by 2,331 · see citing works
Community Resilience: Toward an Integrated Approach
Berkes, F., & Ross, H. (2012) · Society & Natural Resources · doi:10.1080/08941920.2012.736605 · Cited by 1,764 · see citing works
Tandoc, E. C., Lim, Z.-W., & Ling, R. (2018) · Digital Journalism · doi:10.1080/21670811.2017.1360143 · Cited by 1,606 · see citing works
Bonanno, G. A., Galea, S., Bucciarelli, A., & Vlahov, D. (2007) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.75.5.671 · Cited by 1,371 · see citing works
Feeling and Believing: The Influence of Emotion on Trust.
Dunn, J. R., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2005) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.88.5.736 · Cited by 1,301 · see citing works
Measuring Capacities for Community Resilience
Sherrieb, K., Norris, F. H., & Galea, S. (2010) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-010-9576-9 · Cited by 852 · see citing works
Countering Misinformation and Fake News Through Inoculation and Prebunking
Lewandowsky, S., & van der Linden, S. (2021) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2021.1876983 · Cited by 773 · see citing works
Misinformation: susceptibility, spread, and interventions to immunize the public
van der Linden, S. (2022) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-022-01713-6 · Cited by 570 · see citing works
Poortinga, W. (2011) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.09.017 · Cited by 560 · see citing works
Towards a Transversal Definition of Psychological Resilience: A Literature Review
Sisto, A., Vicinanza, F., Campanozzi, L. L., Ricci, G., Tartaglini, D., & Tambone, V. (2019) · Medicina · doi:10.3390/medicina55110745 · Cited by 547 · see citing works
Citizens Versus the Internet: Confronting Digital Challenges With Cognitive Tools
Kozyreva, A., Lewandowsky, S., & Hertwig, R. (2020) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1177/1529100620946707 · Cited by 479 · see citing works
Resilience to Online Disinformation: A Framework for Cross-National Comparative Research
Humprecht, E., Esser, F., & Aelst, P. V. (2020) · The International Journal of Press/Politics · doi:10.1177/1940161219900126 · Cited by 476 · see citing works
Psychological inoculation improves resilience against misinformation on social media
Roozenbeek, J., van der Linden, S., Goldberg, B., Rathje, S., & Lewandowsky, S. (2022) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abo6254 · Cited by 472 · see citing works
Vella, S., & Pai, N. B. (2019) · Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences · doi:10.4103/amhs.amhs_119_19 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
Denckla, C. A., Cicchetti, D., Kubzansky, L. D., Seedat, S., Teicher, M. H., Williams, D. R., & Koenen, K. C. (2020) · European Journal of Psychotraumatology · doi:10.1080/20008198.2020.1822064 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
Free Will in Scientific Psychology
Baumeister, R. F. (2008) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2008.00057.x · Cited by 331 · see citing works
Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition
Habersaat, K. B., Betsch, C., Danchin, M. H., Sunstein, C. R., BOHM, R. M., Falk, A., Brewer, N. T., Omer, S. B., Scherzer, M., Sah, S., et al. (2020) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-020-0906-x · Cited by 300 · see citing works
A Conceptual Framework to Enhance Community Resilience Using Social Capital
Pfefferbaum, B. J., Horn, R. L. V., & Pfefferbaum, R. L. (2015) · Clinical Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10615-015-0556-z · Cited by 246 · see citing works
Psychological Inoculation against Misinformation: Current Evidence and Future Directions
Traberg, C. S., Roozenbeek, J., & van der Linden, S. (2022) · The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · doi:10.1177/00027162221087936 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Community Psychology: Individuals and Interventions in Community Context
Trickett, E. J. (2008) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163517 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Lowe, S. R., Sampson, L., Gruebner, O., & Galea, S. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125761 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Educative Interventions to Combat Misinformation: Evidence from a Field Experiment in India
Badrinathan, S. (2021) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.1017/s0003055421000459 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Measuring psychological resilience to disasters: are evidence-based indicators an achievable goal?
Rodriguez-Llanes, J. M., Vos, F., & Guha-Sapir, D. (2013) · Environmental Health · doi:10.1186/1476-069x-12-115 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Graber, R., Turner, R. N., & Madill, A. (2015) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12135 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Rathbun, B. C. (2011) · International Organization · doi:10.1017/s0020818311000014 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Kohrt, B. A., Worthman, C. M., Adhikari, R. P., Luitel, N. P., Arevalo, J. M. G., Ma, J., McCreath, H., Seeman, T. E., Crimmins, E. M., & Cole, S. W. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1601301113 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Back to the future? Nordic total defence concepts
Wither, J. K. (2020) · Defence Studies · doi:10.1080/14702436.2020.1718498 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Isaacs, K. H., Mota, N. P., Tsai, J., Harpaz‐Rotem, I., Cook, J. M., Kirwin, P. D., Krystal, J. H., Southwick, S. M., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2016) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.10.017 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Bjola, C., & Papadakis, K. (2020) · Cambridge Review of International Affairs · doi:10.1080/09557571.2019.1704221 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Community Psychology and the Capabilities Approach
Shinn, M. (2015) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10464-015-9713-3 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Murphy, J. W. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-8020-5 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Targeting Ontological Security: Information Warfare in the Modern Age
Bolton, D. (2020) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12691 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Tackling COVID-19 Disinformation: Internal and External Challenges for the European Union
Vériter, S. L., Bjola, C., & Koops, J. A. (2020) · The Hague Journal of Diplomacy · doi:10.1163/1871191x-bja10046 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Burden Sharing: Income, Inequality and Willingness to Fight
Anderson, C. J., Getmansky, A., & Hirsch‐Hoefler, S. (2018) · British Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1017/s0007123417000679 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Rational Choice and Social Theory: A Comment
Hausman, D. M. (1995) · The Journal of Philosophy · doi:10.2307/2940942 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
The neuroscience of dual (and triple) systems in decision making.
Wood, S. M. W., & Bechara, A. (2014) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/14322-008 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
The COVID-19 Infodemic: Mechanism, Impact, and Counter-Measures—A Review of Reviews
Ries, M. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su14052605 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
The Psychology of Foreign Policy
Pursiainen, C., & Forsberg, T. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79887-1 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citationTai, A. P.-L., Leung, M.-K., Geng, X., & Lau, W. K. (2023) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1175064 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Rød, B., Pursiainen, C., & Eklund, N. (2025) · European Journal for Security Research · doi:10.1007/s41125-025-00105-4 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationFactors Affecting Willingness to Fight for One’s Own Country: The Case of Baltic States
Rutkauskas, V. (2018) · Special Operations Journal · doi:10.1080/23296151.2018.1456286 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Unpacking the varying strategic logics of total defence
Angstrom, J., & Ljungkvist, K. (2024) · Journal of Strategic Studies · doi:10.1080/01402390.2023.2260958 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Fostering Community Resilience through Social Capital
Maulana, I. N. H., & Wardah, T. F. (2023) · Journal of Transformative Governance and Social Justice · doi:10.26905/j-tragos.v1i1.9229 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Disaster resilience among war-affected people resettled in Northern Sri Lanka: Challenges revisited
Jayawardana, J., Priyantha, R., Magni, M., & Marincioni, F. (2018) · International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction · doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.12.005 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Appel, R. E., Roozenbeek, J., Rayburn-Reeves, R. M., Basol, M., Corbin, J. C., Compton, J., & van der Linden, S. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-09462-5 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Upon entering NATO: explaining defence willingness among Swedes
Persson, T., & Widmalm, S. (2024) · European Security · doi:10.1080/09662839.2023.2294078 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Brown, C. (2007) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781446212967 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Rongved, G. F. (2025) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003497370 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Häkkinen, T., & Kaarkoski, M. (2024) · Scandinavian Journal of History · doi:10.1080/03468755.2023.2289664 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
NATO's reassurance and the willingness to defend one’s country: survey evidence from Latvia
Rostoks, T., & Mieriņa, I. (2024) · European Security · doi:10.1080/09662839.2024.2434087 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Resilience to stress and trauma: a narrative review of neuroimaging research
Egan, L. A., Park, H. R. P., & Gatt, J. M. (2024) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101408 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Three-Decade Evolution of the Willingness to Defend One’s Own Country: the Case of the Baltic States
Andžāns, M., & Sprūds, A. (2020) · Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review · doi:10.47459/lasr.2020.18.9 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Civilian-military collaboration and the re-invention of Swedish total defence
Berndtsson, J. (2025) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003497370-4 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Kuehn, A., Calvert, M. L., & James, G. A. (2025) · Frontiers in Neuroimaging · doi:10.3389/fnimg.2025.1487888 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Evolution of the concept of total defence in the Baltic States
Jordan, J. W. (2024) · Rozprawy Społeczne · doi:10.29316/rs/188761 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Malmström, J., & Berndtsson, J. (2025) · Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies · doi:10.31374/sjms.290 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Sundberg, R., & Gustavsson, G. (2025) · European Security · doi:10.1080/09662839.2025.2540091 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Total defence model at the heart of Finland's national defence and resilience
Sederholm, T., Rannikko, R., & Salo, M. (2025) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003497370-7 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Mukherjee, S., & Kumar, U. (2025) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003603115-2 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Total defence as multilevel governance: Nordic security in the context of the EU and NATO
Pursiainen, C., Karlsson, Ø. N., & Johansson, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Political Science · doi:10.3389/fpos.2026.1767023 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationRogulis, D. (2023) · Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review · doi:10.47459/lasr.2023.20.5 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Still being checked.
- Authors
- Pursiainen, C.
- Affiliations
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
- Corresponding author
- Pursiainen, Christer
- ORCID
- Pursiainen, Christer
- Venue
- Defence Studies
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2026-04-28
- Pages
- 1-22
- ISSN
- 1470-2436 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-9698
- OpenAlex
- W7156838463
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 68
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Defence Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Military and Defense Studies
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Defense, Military, and Policy Studies
- Keywords
- defense mechanisms, total defence, psychological resilience, Finland, Sweden, trust, cohesion, social stability, disinformation, information integrity, collective resilience, personal motivation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
