Military, peace and democracy - Notes 240201

Some months ago, I was thinking about my mother, who used to work as a locally employed military interpreter for the NATO-led peacekeeping force SFOR (Stabilization Force) in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war 1992-95. 

Once, in the 2010s, when I was a student in military history, I discussed with her how I imagined and aspired for a future where the United Nations has a permanent global peacekeeping force consisting of military, police, and civilian police staff. I explained that my experience in Bosnia inspired me to engage in a world where every human has a proper o life in security, wealth, and peace.

My mother worked mainly with military personnel from Nordic countries and had a good experience by making new friends and contacts she still has today. She told me that one of her first expectations and thoughts was that people from Denmark and Sweden came to Bosnia to really "help us" by providing peace and security, but that she also realized later that the "people who came were just people."

 I used to be more idealistic when I was younger by believing that everyone who came to Bosnia after the war was there because there is a fundamental belief in humanism and altruism, helping people and preventing war crimes, preventing criminals, preventing genocide, and preventing crimes against humanity. In the current world, altruistic and humanistic behaviors are usually less important than what is often presented as national interests, geopolitical interests, or "realpolitik" and other brutal and inhumane behaviors.

I used to be more idealistic when I was younger by believing that everyone who came to Bosnia after the war was there because there is a fundamental belief in humanism and altruism, helping people and preventing war crimes, preventing criminals, preventing genocide, and preventing crimes against humanity.

In the current world, altruistic and humanistic behaviors are usually less important than what is often presented as national interests, geopolitical interests, or "realpolitik" and other brutal and inhumane behaviors.

In practice, my mother meant that the individuals on a military peacekeeping mission were not always there because they were altruistic, humanistic, generous, helpful, or believed in human rights and dignity. In many cases, it meant that they came because they just had a job as a soldier or an officer, were just sent away, had some other interests, or because their government had specific interests.

Being active in the military during the late 2000s made me realize that some people enter the military because specific values and purposes drive and inspire them. For example, they believe it's morally right to help people facing danger and threats in other parts of the world. They believe that the military has a vital role in, for example, defending democracy and constitutional values and for peacekeeping, protection, and responsibilities to protect human life and prevent war crimes. 

But I also realized that some people enter the military because they have other reasons to be there. They are looking for adventure, a job after high school, hard-core style discipline, or cannot find something better. Or, as in other cases, they are very authoritarian in their personality or even sadistic and enjoy that kind of conformist uniform in this environment.

This experience from both Bosnia after the war and being active in the military in Sweden, plus having a stepfather who served as an officer in Bosnia after the peacekeeping force, are still influencing my mindset and your thoughts on ideas such as is it possible that the current peacekeeping and peace enforcement can be improved by creating a global unit, global institution, not international or intergovernmental, but an institution that provides security and peace to all humans as equal global citizens?

This is something I still need to figure out. One of my main interests regarding military topics is the role of the soldier in democratic societies in this century. Today, many people are active in the military because they are involved or believe in a nation. One reason is that humanity, or the planet in general, is still not politically unified since there is no global government, democracy, or citizenship.

At the same time, historically, humans have served in military-style organizations and institutions even before nation-states and political nations existed. Humans were active in military formations for city-states, empires, warlords, kingdoms, etc. Therefore, history shows that military organizations and human engagement are not new. 

But the question is, can we as humans do the same on the global level when it comes to having solidarity with the whole of humanity? For more people to live in a world where everybody has access to peace, security, health care and freedom. A world that can be a better place for all of us, and that leads to more human progress and better quality of life.

At the moment, I am wondering how the concept of Bildung could be used for military, peace, and security. Can it create solutions for, for example, world peace and security? Can we build them to assist military organizations in training the soldiers, officers, and others to not only have a sense of loyalty to your country or nation but also to feel the same towards the planet in the world in general? Can military bildung provide the necessary solutions to create a sense of solidarity between humans? There are the questions I need to find the paths to answer.