It’s time to change our perception of war, says the researcher

The mannequin has a gas mask on its face, and beer cans are hanging from its NATO cap. A doll greets visitors at a store in Konala, Helsinki.

We enter Varusteleka, a store selling military products. Individual men, couples and families with children walk the corridors. Speech noise is heard in Finnish, Swedish, German and English.

The Andersson family from Åland, seen in the picture above, has come to buy Theodore-suitable clothes for the boy for the airsoft battle game.

Father Fredrik Andersson is an active reservist. According to him, interest in national defense and reservist activities has increased in demilitarized Åland with the war in Ukraine.

When Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began, Varusteleka’s sales jumped to wild numbers. Individuals donated products purchased from Varusteleka to Ukraine, but many also updated their own stocks in case of a particularly bad day.

Crisis preparedness began to be seen at Varusteleka’s checkout already during the corona pandemic. Now last year’s record demand has leveled off, but there is still more demand than before the war.

– As a commercial operator, it’s a bit of an awkward feeling to think about whether we’re making money in crises. But someone has to produce this material for the world, CEO Jari Laine says.

There is indeed a demand for the material. New customers have been found, for example, from reservists who have not previously participated in voluntary national defense. Many of them have now been activated due to the war and have gone to national defense courses or equipped themselves for crises.

– Own combat equipment has now become more everyday. I think that’s a good thing. In Finland, we have a duty to defend the country, so these issues should be familiar to all citizens at some level, says Laine.

We have come to Varusteleka to meet the University Researcher Nora Kotilaista, whose field is the critical study of militarism. According to him, the focus of the research field is the examination of war, military institutions and power with a critical approach that questions prevailing assumptions.

According to Kotilainen, the increased demand for Varusteleka’s products is a clear example of war becoming commonplace.

– We talk and think about war more. War touches us and is present in our lives and everyday life.

So it’s time to go to Sotima with Kotilainen.

– War is experienced strongly on an emotional level. We are scared and worried, and we try to do something about those things that scare and worry us.

Those actions lead to the militarization of society, meaning that war and military values ​​become more commonplace and unquestioned. According to Kotilainen, Finnish society, like the rest of Western Europe, has become even more militarized in the past year and a half.

– Putin’s war has militarized us, Kotilainen says.

And this is just the beginning.

Although the cause is clear and the harder spiral of militarization in the West is partly dictated by necessity, the researcher wants to open a critical discussion about what it means for us as a society and as people.

And why Finland, in particular, has been so ready to militarize.

– That thing caught fire surprisingly quickly in Finland. Old traumas and images of the enemy woke up from history very quickly. Everyone surely noticed it in their own thinking and everyday life.

In the video below, Kotilainen explains why the war in Ukraine arouses surprising feelings and thoughts in people.

Kotilainen, who works at the University of Helsinki, leads a research project funded by the Kone Foundation called The Language of Military Power in Finnish Democracy. Together Susanna Hastin and Johanna Vuorelman the research work with became very topical last year.

It happened at the latest when a large number of Finns changed their NATO position almost overnight.

– The fear of war influenced the radicalism and the unanimity of the debate, through which NATO was reached. Although the decision to apply to NATO was formally democratic, the process was not a triumph of multi-voiced democracy, says Kotilainen.

Finland and Sweden have long made themselves known in the world as bridge builders; as defenders of human rights and equality. With the membership of the military alliance, these values ​​are now taking a back seat in foreign policy.

– Even in the membership application, we had to negotiate with Turkey about issues that we had not prepared for, Kotilainen reminds.

Already in the initial stages of the applications, Finland and Sweden signed a “mutual understanding document” with Turkey, in which positions were taken on many matters important to Turkey. Sweden’s NATO membership still awaits Turkey’s ratification.

Kotilainen lived in Germany for a few months last fall and got to see how differently the threat of war is viewed in a little deeper Europe.

– I talked a lot to the Germans that you don’t understand how tough a place and a direct threat the Russian war is for us. That’s when I noticed how such a pacifist punk hippie had become almost a warmonger.

Almost everyone can recognize the militarization caused by the same fear response in themselves. At the same time, according to Kotilainen, it must be recognized, and it must be handled analytically and critically.

Last year, world military spending rose to record numbers. There was growth especially in Europe, and Finland’s growth was at the top of Europe due to fighter acquisitions. The images below show how much military spending has increased.

NATO and the EU repeat the mantra that military support to Ukraine will continue as long as necessary. Even talking about peace agreements is seen as stabbing Ukraine in the back.

In this atmosphere, critics of militarization have a difficult role. When Kotilainen has talked about his research work in previous interviews, they have been followed by a barrage of hate messages. He expects the same after this interview.

– It’s easy to get labeled that you’re a naive, stupid girl who talks about things you don’t understand. Or that there is even an enemy of the state, a boat rocker or a Putinist who does not feel solidarity towards Ukraine.

However, according to Kotilainen, the criticism of militarism is about much broader issues. According to the researcher, militarism and militarization, i.e. the strengthening of the values ​​of military power in society, is a serious threat to the basic values ​​of democracy.

When armed security is overemphasized, other security issues such as equality, human rights, intimate partner violence, the environment and the climate receive little attention.

At the same time, there is always enough money for defense spending in the name of national security, and there is not the same democratic discussion about funding as there is about the funding of other functions in society.

– Critical thinking does not mean that you want to destroy the armed forces and stuff flowers into cannons. But military power should be subject to the same rules as other areas of a democratic society, says Kotilainen.

According to him, the process starts at the individual level, where everyone should recognize military values ​​in their own lives.

– This is the worst time to start questioning our understanding of war. Or maybe this is the best time for it.

The researcher urges people to become aware of their own reactions to the war and to think about what causes them. According to him, recognizing war in oneself and in one’s own society opens the opportunity to oppose the ideology of war in oneself.

At the moment, however, such an idea seems very distant. Russia is waging a brutal war of aggression against its peaceful neighbor. Ukraine and Western Europe simply have no choice but to respond to a war of aggression with a war of defense.

– As long as there is injustice and inequality, there will always be war somewhere. As long as someone is belligerent, no one can be at peace, Kotilainen states.

Opponents of the war are often labeled as naive and utopian for this very reason. The native wants to turn this idea on its head.

– In this burning world, more utopia is needed. The world has never changed without imagining a better future.

– This sounds like a Miss Universe speech, but it is not. This is radical talk. We must be brave enough to imagine a world where there is no need to kill because of political conflicts. It shouldn’t sound so utopian though.

During the interview, the other customers of Varusteleka’s Sotima bar have curiously winked at the speedy researcher. Finally, Kotilainen chugs his coke, pulls on his black leather jacket and walks past the military mannequin out into the rain.

You can discuss the topic until Tuesday at 11 pm.