The department also deals with cooperation with other countries in matters such as defence equipment and defence-related industries. The Department is responsible for four separate operational areas. The first of these areas is civil defence, i.e. preparedness for a situation of heightened alert. These functions are command and coordination, protection of the civil population and rescue services, supply of industrial goods and psychological defence. The responsible authorities are the Swedish Agency for Civil Emergency Planning, the Swedish Rescue Services Agency and the National Board of Psychological Defence.
Most government ministries are responsible for one or more functions.
The Ministry of Defence has overall responsibility for coordination within the Government Offices. The second area concerns preparedness for severe emergencies in peacetime. This is a relatively new sphere of responsibility that relates to the preparedness of society in the face of serious disturbances to functions that are essential to the community and catastrophic disasters. According to the directions issued by the Government, a particularly high standard of preparedness must be maintained for about ten such situations. The Ministry of Defence is responsible for preparedness in some of these areas but most of them fall within the spheres of responsibility of other ministries.