Sweden to re-issue booklet of world war precautions
A booklet containing advice on how to cope with the outbreak of world war is set for a re-release after 30 years.
An updated version of the pamphlet Om kriget kommer (If War Comes) will be sent to Swedish homes in May or June, reports newspaper Aftonbladet.
First released in the 1940s during the Second World War, the booklet contains tips for citizens on what to do should Sweden become involved in a war.
The most recent version of the war advice book was produced in the 1980s. But with regional security considered to have worsened in recent years, and terrorism also having emerged, authorities have decided to re-issue the book with new content to reflect today’s national security circumstances.
“Back then the [booklet’s] focus was only on war. Today society looks completely different. There is a significantly more complex threat with climate change, terror attacks, pandemics and manipulation of information. People need to learn and know about how to deal with it,” Christina Andersson of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap, MSB), which has been commissioned by the government to produce the new version of the booklet, told Aftonbladet.
Meanwhile, a survey carried out by MSB found that Swedish public concern about the spread of nuclear weapons has increased significantly over the last year.
Swedes were asked how they feel about the nuclear threat as part of the agency’s annual Opinioner (Opinions) survey, in which perceptions of defence issues, society, Swedish foreign and defence policy, and international relations are analysed.
Over 1,000 responses from December 2017 were analysed in the survey.
Though most of the answers showed little change since 2016, 59 percent said they were concerned about nuclear proliferation – an increase of 23 percent from the previous year.
A large proportion were also concerned about IT security (59 percent, up from 40 percent) and biological and chemical weapon proliferation (46 percent, up from 29 percent).
READ ALSO: Almost nine in ten Swedes in favour of UN nuclear bomb ban
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An updated version of the pamphlet Om kriget kommer (If War Comes) will be sent to Swedish homes in May or June, reports newspaper Aftonbladet.
First released in the 1940s during the Second World War, the booklet contains tips for citizens on what to do should Sweden become involved in a war.
The most recent version of the war advice book was produced in the 1980s. But with regional security considered to have worsened in recent years, and terrorism also having emerged, authorities have decided to re-issue the book with new content to reflect today’s national security circumstances.
“Back then the [booklet’s] focus was only on war. Today society looks completely different. There is a significantly more complex threat with climate change, terror attacks, pandemics and manipulation of information. People need to learn and know about how to deal with it,” Christina Andersson of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap, MSB), which has been commissioned by the government to produce the new version of the booklet, told Aftonbladet.
Meanwhile, a survey carried out by MSB found that Swedish public concern about the spread of nuclear weapons has increased significantly over the last year.
Swedes were asked how they feel about the nuclear threat as part of the agency’s annual Opinioner (Opinions) survey, in which perceptions of defence issues, society, Swedish foreign and defence policy, and international relations are analysed.
Over 1,000 responses from December 2017 were analysed in the survey.
Though most of the answers showed little change since 2016, 59 percent said they were concerned about nuclear proliferation – an increase of 23 percent from the previous year.
A large proportion were also concerned about IT security (59 percent, up from 40 percent) and biological and chemical weapon proliferation (46 percent, up from 29 percent).
READ ALSO: Almost nine in ten Swedes in favour of UN nuclear bomb ban
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