One of the consequences of this structural change in the Swedish foreign policy and military policy is to “engage people more in the ideas of war and the foreign threat, mainly from Russia and China,” Masoud Kamali, an internationally renowned professor of sociology and social work told Anadolu.Īccording to Kamali, re-enforcing civil service signals that NATO membership will affect everyone in Sweden, and this alliance is not just simply about “NATO soldiers and NATO forces coming to this country and doing joint training in Sweden.” “Experiences from Ukraine are clear” when it comes to protecting the civilian population, “rescue services are put under very heavy pressure,” Bohlin said. “We’re going back to a situation where we have a formalized civil duty,” announced Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, joined by Defense Minister Pal Jonson and Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin at a news conference last week.īohlin said the scheme will ensure deploying of appropriately trained civilians within the municipal rescue services and strengthen their abilities to respond in a state of emergency or to any potential attack. Sweden’s government now plans to reintroduce conscription for emergency services to shore up its defense capabilities. Thanks to its neutral status, the Nordic country had also avoided being part of the Cold War, which came with huge military expenditures.Īll these factors helped Sweden become one of the richest countries in Europe known for its generous welfare and diplomacy. But the country seems to have taken now a different turn after Russia launched a war against Ukraine last year, prompting Stockholm to take an unexpected step - siding and applying for membership in NATO, according to one expert. Sweden, a country known for its non-alignment for more than 200 years, managed to avoid participating in both world wars and the Cold War, as well as the devastating consequences of those wars.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |