Quiet power: How security interests shape offshore wind and marine spatial planning in Sweden

Offshore wind energy is increasingly framed by the European Union (EU) as critical infrastructure for achieving energy security, reducing fossil fuel dependence, and responding to geopolitical tensions, especially following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This paper investigates how offshore wind development in Sweden is shaped by evolving security-related narratives, and whether it is becoming securitized across international, national, and local levels of governance. Addressing a gap in the literature on energy transitions and security, the study combines insights from securitization theory with a multi-level governance lens to examine how discourses, actors, and tools shape the governance of offshore wind. Empirically, it draws on qualitative analysis of 15 policy documents and 10 interviews with EU, Swedish national, and local stakeholders. The findings reveal a fragmented governance landscape: while EU institutions increasingly treat offshore wind as a security imperative, Swedish authorities approach it primarily through risk-based and technical planning frameworks. Yet national defence actors, especially in the Baltic Sea region, exert significant behind-the-scenes influence, shaping outcomes without transparent deliberation. This “soft securitization” constrains the democratic and integrative ambitions of Marine Spatial Planning, the key policy tool for managing marine use conflicts. The study underscores the uneven and contested nature of securitization processes and highlights the institutional challenges of balancing security, environmental, and democratic priorities in offshore energy governance. • Uses securitization theory and multi-level governance to analyze offshore wind in Sweden. • Identifies competing discourses of offshore wind as security, risk, or routine policy across levels. • Shows how EU securitization interacts with Sweden's risk-based planning and local democratic processes. • Reveals how defence actors gain influence through institutional asymmetries • Highlights the need to strengthen marine spatial planning to mediate energy, environmental, and security goals