Sweden’s NATO bid, conscription decision signals possible participation in a new cold war: Expert
LONDON
Sweden, a country known for its non-alignment for more than 200 years, managed to avoid participating in both the World War and the Cold War, as well as the devastating consequences of those wars. But the country now appears to have taken a different turn after Russia launched a war against Ukraine last year, prompting Stockholm to take an unexpected step – to step aside and apply for NATO membership, according to one expert.
Thanks to its neutral status, the Nordic country had also avoided being part of the Cold War, which came with huge military expenditures.
All these factors helped Sweden become one of the richest countries in Europe known for its generous welfare and diplomacy.
Sweden’s government is now planning to reintroduce conscription for the rescue service in order to strengthen its defense capabilities.
“We are going back to a situation where we have a formalized civil duty,” announced Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, together with Defense Minister Pal Jonson and Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin at a press conference last week.
Bohlin said the system will ensure the deployment of appropriately trained civilians within the municipal emergency services and strengthen their ability to respond in an emergency or to possible attacks.
“The experience from Ukraine is clear” when it comes to protecting the civilian population, “the emergency services are put under very heavy pressure,” Bohlin said.
One of the consequences of this structural change in 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”, says Masoud Kamali, an internationally known professor of sociology and social issues. work told Anadolu.
According to Kamali, strengthening the civil service signals that NATO membership will affect everyone in Sweden, and this alliance is not just about “NATO soldiers and NATO forces coming to this country and doing joint training in Sweden.”
“The program points out that the Scandinavian country will have much higher spending on military service, which in turn will affect the Swedish welfare state which is already under attack,” added Kamali, who was previously appointed by the Swedish government as a special investigator on the issue of integration , structural discrimination and power in the country.
All this will further “increase social problems” the country is currently facing, he said.
“Martial Government”
According to Kamali, NATO membership and Sweden’s willingness to accept the neoliberal policy led by the US and other countries that are skeptical and even negative about the state’s role as a welfare state obviously lead to the country moving away from peaceful development. and instead of “preparing for war”.
Since World War II, the newly elected right-wing government led by the Moderates has always advocated that Sweden participate in the Cold War and join NATO.
This “war government and not welfare government, needs people who will cost nothing,” because according to neoliberal politics “you have to make governance cheap,” Kamali said.
They need “officials for the government, for the market and for the new policy”, and the state administration means that “everyone in Sweden without receiving any salary must contribute to the defense of the country if the war comes”, he expressed.
“After what (former US President John F.) Kennedy said, don’t say what this country did for you, you have to think and say what you’re going to do for this country. This is the policy that the new government has, and the white-collar policy is really linked to the neoliberal policies of the new government,” Kamali explained.
Becoming a full member of NATO means the country will have to host alliance forces and contribute financially and militarily, and the government needs the civil service to help because of “lower taxes for rich people in this country,” he said.
“The government is a representative of the market, not of the people. That’s the problem,” Kamali added.
“A New Cold War”
According to the sociologist Kamali, the world is already involved in a cold war, and Sweden, despite having managed to stay out of the conflict for decades, is now on the way to becoming fully involved in a possible war.
“We are witnessing a new cold war unfolding, and on one side we have NATO and on the other side Russia, China, Iran and some other small countries.”
The Scandinavian country used to have good relations with all these countries, but now it “fully cooperates with NATO,” Kamali said.
He added that Sweden’s end of decades of neutrality means that the country is fully participating in an unfolding cold war.
Another sign that Sweden is on the way to participating in a possible cold war is that “the government started a new policy called the authority to combat psychological warfare”, which means that anyone who is critical of the government can be considered an enemy – ” a famous cold war”. politics” – emphasized Kamali.
He pointed out that Sweden was never threatened by Russia and therefore the government’s decision to become part of NATO is a “political decision, not a decision based on facts.”
The consequences of Sweden becoming a NATO member will be “big for the people of this country” and this cold war mentality “is already here”, according to Kamali.