Refuse to Kill: Stories of the Conscientious Objectors

Welcome. Refuse to Kill: The Stories of Conscientious Objectors is a project run by Björn Larsson and Carl Johan Erikson, both former conscientious objectors and artists.

Refuse to Kill seeks to investigate a specific segment of recent Swedish history between 1966 and 1992 through the testimonies and narratives of conscientious objectors. In other words, those who chose not to perform traditional military service, but applied for, and were granted, non-combat service. Existential questions about the conscientious objector's movement, such as the right to invoke one's conscience, concern the individual's room to manoeuvre in relation to the law and rights, and still carry relevance today considering the resumption of compulsory military service. The right to conscientious objection is the main focus of the project, as well as social expectations, norms, gender structures and the logic of measurability. These are the project's questions, which are once again brought up to date by security policy changes such as the revival of Swedish conscription in 2017 and Sweden's application for NATO membership in 2022.

We are looking for photographs, films and other documentation from those who performed non-combat service (VTP: vapenfritjänst) during the relevant years. We would be very pleased if you have something to contribute to the project. Our website is an ongoing publication with certificate of issue where we present our ongoing work. 

To send material, please contact us at: info@vagradoda.se

Thanks in advance, Björn and Carl Johan