The Quest for Relevant Air Power

swedish Air Force │ 313
achieving a professional grasp of the new intellectualism in air
power thinking.
From 2002 to 2005 air power seminars were organised annually.
The 2002 seminar dealt with the nature and essence of military
doctrine. It was basically run by Swedes. 179 In the following
years, the air power seminars received an international or rather
Anglo-Saxon character. Speakers such as Mason, Meilinger,
Warden, or Philip Sabin were invited to share their latest views
upon the application of Western air power in a dynamically changing
environment. 180 The seminars lasted two days, with the first
day conducted in English and the second in Swedish. Whereas the
first day was dominated by Anglo-Saxon speakers, the second day
was reserved for internal debates. To debate and to transfer the
Anglo-Saxon dimension into a Swedish context, workshops and
panel debates are held. In 2004, for instance, the future development
of Swedish air power capabilities was pondered. The year
after, the status and the mission types of the SWAFRAP JAS 39
squadron as well as the threat of “air” terrorism were debated. 181
Hence, foreign—particularly Anglo-Saxon—ideas are put into a
Swedish context and not just copied without any further reflection.
In addition to the annual air power seminars, the SNDC started
to produce its own publications on air power theory, with a particular
focus on the application of air power in the post–Cold War
era. 182 Though not with an explicit air power focus, the SNDC has
also published volumes that have a strong relevance for air power
theory, such as a publication on effects-based operations. 183
A particularly interesting publication is Daidalossyndromet:
Om luftmakt 2005 (The Daedalos Syndrome: Thoughts on Air
Power 2005). 184 It is composed of essays written by previous SNDC
students and presentations given by international speakers at the
annual air power seminars. According to the head of the SNDC
air faculty, this publication was supposed to be food for thought
for a doctrinal air power debate. In particular, it relates to the sort
of missions the Swedes expect to be dispatched to as part of the
EU Battle Group concept, revealing the intertwined relationship
between air power education and Sweden’s changing defence political
orientation. 185 Hence it can be concluded that, though the
air power debate in Sweden is dominated by Anglo-Saxon ideas,