In an era of rising security threats, states are adapting their defence strategies and increasingly involving private actors in the protection of vital societal functions. This shift prompts new forms of responsibilities, cooperation and expectations. This thesis is conducted as a qualitative case study to examine in what ways the Swedish governmental speech acts have securitized private actors as essential to national security within the Total Defence structure. Drawing on Buzan et al.’s (1998) Securitization Theory, a qualitative content analysis was conducted, with coding structured after the theory’s core concepts; securitizing actor, existential threats, referent object and securitizing move. The study’s methodological approach involved analysing 16 speech acts,both written and spoken, from the years 2014-2025 to identify the prominent securitization themes emerging from the governmental discourse. This thesis aimed to analyse the process through which Swedish governmental speech acts have securitized private actors as essential components of national security, within the framework of the Total Defence strategy. In doing so, this thesis aims to empirically contribute to the existing literature in the field of total defence as well as to the understudied domain of private-sector involvement. The theoretical contribution lies in applying a process-based refinement of Securitization Theory to trace how discourse can lead to institutional and policy changes. The overarching findings of this thesis point to the gradual inclusion of private businesses as essential components of the Swedish Total Defence strategy. Through the delivery of speech acts, governmental actors constructed specific security logics that see the private sector as highly responsible for the delivery of services and involved in new aspects of the state’s protection.