Increasingly frequent television, as well as public information contributions in general, which focus on military issues, force every Scandinavian resident to think deeply.
First of all, the question arises as to whether the current course, according to which the welfare state and the peacetime aspect of life was dominant, will take a radical turn in the near future. Then, what are the consequences of this, so far, still mild militarization, on the economy, and on the political agenda, which is also changing, and will not these societies, which have known only stability for a long period of time, undergo such changes that in the near future there will be very hard to recognize?
In the background of everything is the war between Russia and Ukraine, which here in Scandinavia is seen, among other things, as a war of the values of two systems, a war of democratic values against tyranny, and a little more, a war of good and evil. But everything could somehow be controlled if the crisis had not spread, if there had not been a conflict between Hamas and Israel, and an increasingly clear Chinese presence in a world that is rapidly polarizing, and there is also a hidden struggle for prestige in Africa and the rest of Asia and Oceania.
The USA, no matter what you criticize them for leading a unipolar world, has ushered our world into an era of not only relative, but also real material prosperity. This is why it will be interesting to see if it is worth destroying such and such a world order as a whole. That pax americana, established after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was not always the best and fairest solution for all countries and movements, there is no doubt.
But the responsibility for the world we have is borne by everyone, both big and small players. Everyone has an obligation to correctly read in which direction events are going and where to position yourself, given that the price of a wrong assessment is high and comes quickly.
What is interesting and what we want to point out in this text are possible changes that will be more and more evident as a consequence of the above-described situation when it comes to Scandinavian societies, individually and as a whole, considering the principle of joined vessels that applies in this case. This means changes in the entire civil sector of society, which was so humanized by permanent reforms in the past that it became a kind of brand of this part of the world.
In the scenario according to which militarization will continue, which seems like a realistic option, it should be expected that some of the soft values of these societies will come under attack. The gender agenda and much that has been achieved in recent years could suffer, if not a complete halt, then certainly stagnation, regardless of the assurances of political factors to the contrary.
The peacetime climate and the will for social experiments resulted in new and hitherto unseen changes in this field. In recent years, it has gone so far that the legislation itself has been harmonized with the already greatly changed practice. The current practice of legal gender change with the acceptance of such tendencies is expressed not only through legislation, but also through the acceptance of society itself and its institutions. It seems that no one questions same-sex marriages, which the church itself confirms. A kind of unisexual culture seems to have been, if not close to everyone's heart, and it has become something we accept because it is there. Members of the new generations simply do not want those norms that we thought were untouchable and unquestionable. Here is a small example from daily practice that will support this statement: all the toilets in a department store that is adapted to citizens of the world, such as Sweden Ikea, are available to members of both sexes. When going out or entering the toilet, as a female member, you should not be surprised if you bump into some bearded woman who is buttoning up a button, or vice versa, if you, as a man, run into a girl who is just lowering her skirt and fixing her bra.
However, things seem to be changing, and in time with the increasingly muffled sounds of missiles coming from the Ukrainian battlefield. The Scandinavian countries, willy-nilly, found themselves in a kind of gap. The dilemma that reads: how to defend the peacetime values of the Western world, which has become a kind of war goal, and on the other hand to organize in the military field so that it can compete with Russia, turned out to be not at all easy to resolve. It proved to be a great truth that it is not so easy to move from words to action. The allocation of large sums of money and the huge donation of weapons to Ukraine so that it can continue the war at all, and the necessary restart of the already forgotten war industry in most, not only Scandinavian, but also European countries, is something that does not come by itself. Simply because, in addition to large sums of money, a change in the direction of society is also required. It seems that a comprehensive redefinition of the peacetime orientation of these countries, whose societies were oriented almost entirely to the peacetime sector for several decades, is also necessary.
Occasional reports by Danish television about some progress in the re-establishment of the production facilities of the dedicated industry, specifically, the ammunition industry in the provincial parts of the country, show that it is not easy to change the direction of social movement overnight and redirect it in the completely opposite direction.
There are other aspects of militarization, which is beyond any doubt ongoing, and which needs time and resources to show results. Thinking about the expansion of military service, as well as its implementation, is one of the most important moments of that process. How to regulate military conscription itself in a situation where the negation of gender equality is out of the question, when girls must also be a part of everything, even part of the war mechanism of which military conscription is a very important part. This dilemma is expressed in the different regulation of military service in individual Scandinavian countries. Thus, for example, Sweden decided on a military obligation that literally respects gender equality, so already now the military training grounds are full of both boys and girls. At least that's what Swedish television reports assure us. Denmark, carried along by the general trend, accepted in principle the need for additional strengthening of military conscription, which now lasts for 11 months, as well as the principle of gender equality when it comes to military conscription, with the difference that it will make a decision on the implementation of this law Folketings only after the next parliamentary elections.
The fear that growing militarization and large aid packages for Ukraine will divert the public's focus from the green agenda, which has become a kind of manifesto for most political parties here, has resulted in the recent adoption of a major plan by the Social Democrat government. Mette Frederiksen, supported by almost all parties, which refers precisely to the issues covered by the green agenda. It announced large projects in agriculture, with the ultimate goal of turning large fields, so far richly subsidized with money from the EU coffers, into forests and wildlife, and to do something about maritime assets, given that the news about the disappearance of entire species of flora and fauna in the area of Danish waters became more than worrisome.
Based on everything, written and unwritten, said and unsaid, it can be concluded that these two sectors, peacetime and military, are running a kind of race. For now, Mirnodopski somehow manages to maintain a balance, pointing to notorious facts such as the fact that schools that are crying out for renovation are already underfunded, and that other sectors such as health and child care are suffering from similar funding shortages.
It is interesting that in these societies, which grew up in their present form precisely at the height of the peacetime sector, very little or nothing is said about peace and the need to find a peaceful solution in this great conflict that is raging in the East of Europe. In any case, no one talks about it openly, especially not in those Scandinavian countries that, like Sweden, have a long industrial tradition. The one, coupled with the production of large quantities of iron and steel, which, as recently as yesterday, made this country an important military factor. Moreover, there is much more open talk about the necessary militarization and an extremely open approach to all issues of the military aspect. Of course, there should be no doubt that big capital is pushing this matter of militarization through the political system and making it grist to its mill.
It is evident in everything that the treatment of the time factor has a special significance. Both for Russia itself, but also for those who make up the opposing camp. From the initial desire to defeat Russia as soon as possible, for which the events of the first year of the war provided enough arguments, primarily due to Russian superficiality and the belief that everything will end with a single military operation, we moved on to combinatorics and the search for a long-term strategy that would provide just such , victorious, resolution of the situation. Historical parallels were sought and, not without reason, the documentary program of Fr The Crimean War (1853-1856) in which the European powers with joint efforts defeated Russia, which after the revolution of 1848/49, thanks to the fact that it helped the reactionary regimes of Europe, imposed itself as a hegemon. Someone who largely brightens and dresses her destiny.
In the desire to speed up the militarization of these societies, some governments of the Scandinavian countries have started with occasional direct appeals to the population. This was followed by pleas to clean the old shelters, or get protective masks, etc. Thus, the Danish government has requested that all households have enough food for three days, water reserves, special phone chargers, and that they have a sum of money in the amount of 6000 kroner in case of a hacker attack.
The injection of adrenaline and the spreading of awareness that the Ukrainian war is here, on the threshold, for now it seems to be under control, the population is following the government's instructions calmly and without much panic, but it is felt that something is still not right. It's as if something long ago is echoing in the background Nothing's a warning that reads: "In every man there is a monster, and it awakens when you put a sword in his hands." It is to be hoped that this race will eventually go in favor of peace and that this miracle will not get the necessary chance to wake up once again in European history.
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