In 2017, the Swedish government took the initiative to conduct a country¬wide information campaign with the aim of informing the citizens on what to do in the event of a serious crisis or war.
In this article the effects of this information campaign are studied through a unique panel survey with identical surveys sent out to a sample of citizens immediately prior to the campaign and two weeks after the campaign.
The study shows that the information reached a great majority of the population, despite today’s highly individualised media consumption. Concerning the effect, the level of responsibility for civil preparedness ascribed to different actors increased after the campaign, including the responsibility of the citizens. This effect is significant.
However, the study reveals no significant effect on the lev¬ els of trust with the trust in different authorities and their civil preparedness remaining on a mid¬level before as well as after the campaign. Moreover, we do not see any general proof of higher risk perceptions or higher fear of threats as a result of the campaign, with the im¬ portant exceptions of fear of measures to destabilise democracy and severe power cuts.
In the article it is argued that despite current trends of strong individualisation with effects on media consumption and respect for authorities, the Swedish campaign illustrates that it is still possible to reach the greater part of the population with vital information and also, to at least some extent, affect attitudes.
Learn more on The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences’ website