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En studie av kriminalisering av deltagande i väpnade konflikter - Ett moraliskt dilemma i en globaliserad värld.

Gustafsson, August LU (2016) JURM02 20161
Department of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Svenska medborgares deltagande i väpnade konflikter utomlands är ett fenomen som på senare tid allt mer uppmärksammats i media och i den politiska debatten. Främst har debatten handlat om de svenskar som reser till Syrien för att ansluta sig till diverse terroristorganisationer, men problematiken är i hög grad mångbottnad. Svenska medborgares deltagande i väpnade konflikter aktualiserar en rad ideologiska och politiska frågeställningar. Är det en rättighet att delta i väpnade konflikter? Vilka intressen är det som skyddas? Samt vilka är de bakomliggande orsakerna till att Sverige har valt att inte kriminalisera deltagande i väpnade konflikter?

En del av förklaringen till avsaknaden på kriminalisering går att finna ur ett historiskt... (More)
Svenska medborgares deltagande i väpnade konflikter utomlands är ett fenomen som på senare tid allt mer uppmärksammats i media och i den politiska debatten. Främst har debatten handlat om de svenskar som reser till Syrien för att ansluta sig till diverse terroristorganisationer, men problematiken är i hög grad mångbottnad. Svenska medborgares deltagande i väpnade konflikter aktualiserar en rad ideologiska och politiska frågeställningar. Är det en rättighet att delta i väpnade konflikter? Vilka intressen är det som skyddas? Samt vilka är de bakomliggande orsakerna till att Sverige har valt att inte kriminalisera deltagande i väpnade konflikter?

En del av förklaringen till avsaknaden på kriminalisering går att finna ur ett historiskt perspektiv. Under 1900-talets första hälft deltog svenskar i både spanska inbördeskriget och finska vinterkriget, deltagande som i stor utsträckning förknippas med hjältemod och kampen mellan det goda och onda. Dessa konflikter har kommit att prägla synen på svenska medborgare deltagande i väpnade konflikter. Frågan är om bilden av deltagande i väpnade konflikter har kommit att förändras? Inte minst konflikterna i Ukraina och Syrien har visat är det tveksamt om svenska medborgare i lika hög grad längre representerar de ideal som historiskt sätt har ansetts motivera en utebliven kriminaliserings. Även om deltagande i en väpnad konflikt i vissa fall kan ha ett allmänt accepterat ändamål finns ett behov av att ur samhällets synpunkt tydligt visa ett symboliskt avståndstagande från användandet av våld, inte minst vid internationella konflikter.

Vid genomförande av en kriminalisering måste vissa grundläggande förutsättningar vara uppfyllda. I ett försök att understryka behovet och nödvändigheten av en kriminalisering av deltagande i väpnade konflikter kommer därför i analysen visas på vilka skador ett deltagande i en väpnad konflikt kan komma att utgöra.

Det finns en rad olika alternativa kriminaliseringar vilka på olika sätt avgränsas mot att skydda ett visst intresse. Beroende på vilka värden som anses skyddsvärda kan en kriminalisering utformas så att den i möjligaste mån skyddar intressen och samtidigt begränsar inskränkningen av en rättighet. Uppsatsens komparativa studie ger en viss ledning till hur en svensk kriminalisering kan utformas. Avvägningen bygger på förhållandet mellan ett skyddsintresses värde och den begräsning av individens frihet som en kriminalisering innebär. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
The participation by Swedish citizens in foreign armed conflicts is a topic that has been receiving an increasing amount of attention not only in the media but also in the political debate. The debate has first and foremost centered around those Swedish citizens travelling to Syria to join various terrorist organisations but the topic extends further, is far more complex and gives rise to a number of political and ideological questions. Should it be seen as a civil right to participate in armed conflicts? Whose and what interests are safeguarded in such a situation? And what are the underlying reasons that Sweden has decided not to criminalise the participation in foreign armed conflicts?

Part of the explanation as to the lack of... (More)
The participation by Swedish citizens in foreign armed conflicts is a topic that has been receiving an increasing amount of attention not only in the media but also in the political debate. The debate has first and foremost centered around those Swedish citizens travelling to Syria to join various terrorist organisations but the topic extends further, is far more complex and gives rise to a number of political and ideological questions. Should it be seen as a civil right to participate in armed conflicts? Whose and what interests are safeguarded in such a situation? And what are the underlying reasons that Sweden has decided not to criminalise the participation in foreign armed conflicts?

Part of the explanation as to the lack of regulation around participation in foreign armed conflicts can be found by looking at the developments in the 20th century. In the early part of the 1900’s a large number of Swedish citizens travelled to abroad to participate in conflicts such as the Spanish civil war and the Finnish winter war. In these conflicts the participation by Swedes was seen through the lens of patriotism and justified by talking about the battle between good and evil. However the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria in recent times have arguably blurred the lines of what is good and evil and as such it is highly doubtful that the participation by Swedes in these conflicts can be justified using the same arguments as were used historically. While in some cases participating in an armed conflict can be seen as fulfilling a greater good, there is an urgent need from society’s point of view to distance itself from the use of violence, not least in international conflicts.

In order for a criminalisation of participation in armed conflicts to be carried out a number of fundamental criteria must be achieved. In an attempt to underscore the urgent need for a criminalisation this thesis will also attempt to analyst the potential consequences and damages that a participation in armed conflicts can inflict.

The criminalisation could be carried out in a number of different ways, each way safeguarding a specific interest. Depending on what interests are deemed more worthy of being protected, the criminalisation can be designed in a way that protects these interests while at the same time minimise the restriction of civil rights. The comparative study of this thesis provides some guidelines as to how criminalisation can be designed, focusing on this trade off between the safeguarding of social, ethical and political interests and the intrusion on civil rights. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Gustafsson, August LU
supervisor
organization
course
JURM02 20161
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Straffrätt
language
Swedish
id
8874124
date added to LUP
2016-06-14 10:29:34
date last changed
2016-06-14 10:29:34
@misc{8874124,
  abstract     = {{The participation by Swedish citizens in foreign armed conflicts is a topic that has been receiving an increasing amount of attention not only in the media but also in the political debate. The debate has first and foremost centered around those Swedish citizens travelling to Syria to join various terrorist organisations but the topic extends further, is far more complex and gives rise to a number of political and ideological questions. Should it be seen as a civil right to participate in armed conflicts? Whose and what interests are safeguarded in such a situation? And what are the underlying reasons that Sweden has decided not to criminalise the participation in foreign armed conflicts?

Part of the explanation as to the lack of regulation around participation in foreign armed conflicts can be found by looking at the developments in the 20th century. In the early part of the 1900’s a large number of Swedish citizens travelled to abroad to participate in conflicts such as the Spanish civil war and the Finnish winter war. In these conflicts the participation by Swedes was seen through the lens of patriotism and justified by talking about the battle between good and evil. However the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria in recent times have arguably blurred the lines of what is good and evil and as such it is highly doubtful that the participation by Swedes in these conflicts can be justified using the same arguments as were used historically. While in some cases participating in an armed conflict can be seen as fulfilling a greater good, there is an urgent need from society’s point of view to distance itself from the use of violence, not least in international conflicts.

In order for a criminalisation of participation in armed conflicts to be carried out a number of fundamental criteria must be achieved. In an attempt to underscore the urgent need for a criminalisation this thesis will also attempt to analyst the potential consequences and damages that a participation in armed conflicts can inflict. 

The criminalisation could be carried out in a number of different ways, each way safeguarding a specific interest. Depending on what interests are deemed more worthy of being protected, the criminalisation can be designed in a way that protects these interests while at the same time minimise the restriction of civil rights. The comparative study of this thesis provides some guidelines as to how criminalisation can be designed, focusing on this trade off between the safeguarding of social, ethical and political interests and the intrusion on civil rights.}},
  author       = {{Gustafsson, August}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{En studie av kriminalisering av deltagande i väpnade konflikter - Ett moraliskt dilemma i en globaliserad värld.}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}