During the last dozen years the author of these essays has been engaged in strategic and security policy studies, serving the long-range planning of the Swedish Defence. He has found that the step from academic political science to a future oriented political science "fiction" is not always very long or indeed difficult. All the essays have previously been published in Swedish as contributions in journals or books to the current debate on issues related to national security. ... A major motive for publishing an English version of these essays is the conviction that it is in the best interest of Swedish security policy not only to give out information on facts but also, hopefully, to provide balanced analyses of Swedish perceptions of current worries and future problems.