Sanna Strand

Sanna Strand is a project researcher at the Department of Social Sciences, Södertörn University, and a PostDoc in Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University. Her research focuses on defense policy, militarization, and gender dynamics within military institutions across Sweden and Europe during the 20th and 21st centuries.

Her research interests span

• Military recruitment and conscription
• Gendered politics of militarization
• Feminist security analysis
• Legitimacy of armed conflict
• State-military relations
• Marketing and institutional branding

Her recent publications analyze

• Contemporary military recruitment testimonials (2024)
• Gendered conscription policies (2024)
• Militarization of Baltic Sea islands (2024)
• Historical shifts in military recruitment (2015–2024)
• Body politics in military marketing (2022)
• Gender and uniform design (2022)

These works emphasize intersections of gender, institutional legitimacy, and militarization narratives.

She has received funding from the Baltic Sea Foundation for her project 'From "Sea of Peace" to a "NATO Sea"? A feminist security analysis of the militarization of the Baltic Sea islands' (2024). Co-authors include Maria Stern, Saskia Stachowitsch, and Fia Sundevall.