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Sweden Celebrates 200 Years Of Peace by Nobody: 3:14pm On Aug 17, 2014 |
Sweden has not actively taken part in a war since 1814 - breaking even Switzerland' s record for peace . One peace and conflict expert has told The Local that Swedes learned the hard way to take the non- confrontational stance . Precisely 200 years ago, on August 15th, 1814 , Sweden entered a new era of peace . The last battle took its final breath on August 14th after the signing of the Convention of Moss, ending a brief war with Norway sparked by the nation declaring its independence. The war would be Sweden ' s last. "Sweden as a nation has not participated in war for 200 years, " Peter Wallensteen , senior professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University , told The Local. How has Sweden managed to stayed out of war for two entire centuries? "Primarily by luck , " Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told The Local on Friday. Wallensteen pointed out that Sweden has contributed forces to UN peacekeeping operations , has an active military and a thriving arms industry , and that the definition of peace is debatable. Nor does avoiding war mean that Sweden is officially neutral . Sweden left its policy of neutrality when it joined the EU in 1995 , opting instead for "non- alignment ". "But there is an absence of the use of political violence in the country , no international wars, no civil wars, and no military coups , " Wallensteen explained . Due to Switzerland ' s unfortunate civil war in 1847, Wallensteen said , Sweden ' s tally even beats the capital of neutrality . All of the Scandinavian nations had a chance at taking the prize longest reign of peace , Wallensteen said , since they stayed out of the first world war . It was during World War II that things started falling apart . Sweden never officially took a side in World War II - but the nation has received harsh international criticism for letting the Nazis use Swedish railways to invade Norway , questioning the image of neutrality and indeed casting a light of shame and cowardice upon the country. In pictures : Stockholmers talk about war and peace But historians say Sweden did not favour Germany. Rather , Sweden took the most non- confrontational stance it could. During the war posters were hung on building walls with a yellow and blue tiger, and the words " en svensk tiger" - translating both as " a Swedish tiger " and " a Swede keeps his mouth shut" . According to Wallensteen , this attitude is not native , but learned. "Politicians realized as far back as 1905, after the treaty with Norway , that war creates lasting animosity. But solutions create lasting cooperation where everybody benefits . " Listening, Africa? Today Swedes have a reputation for being reserved and non- confrontational . How did the war- faring Vikings and mighty kings of the late Empire of Sweden transform into humble striped cats ? "I think that Swedes have learned it doesn ' t pay to engage in violent conflict , " Wallensteen told The Local. "There is an attitude of strong conflict awareness . There is a willingness to find solutions that work, solutions that are pragmatic , practical , and rational . " The Swedish climate of compromise , Wallensteen said , grew from experience . "People do take a stand, but they do not take a stand so incompatible with others that discussion becomes impossible . Due to long historical experience, Swedes are willing to open up to negotiation. " Wallensteen said that the paradigm shift made a difference not just on the international scale and in peace - keeping issues, but also on the domestic front . "I think there was a cultural shift away from viewing war as honourable and great to a much more civilian understanding of what is good in society, " Wallensteen said . "And in the Swedish case that means work hard , develop new industries, build welfare , be involved in national affairs. . . These kinds of values have gradually become more important than being engaged in military operations . " But will the " peace" - or simply war avoidance - continue? "Peace must be created, secured , and continuously nurtured by dialogue and diplomacy ," Bildt told The Local. "Prediction is difficult , " Wallensteen said after brief hesitation. "But I hope so . There is an atmosphere of inclusivity, a willingness in Sweden to integrate everyone and build a tolerant society . " Sweden ' s terror threat level has remained "high" since a botched suicide bombing in Stockholm in 2010 . Reverberations from the riots of 2013 are still being felt . Anti -Semitism is on the rise, and an increasing number of Swedes are engaging in violent extremism abroad . In pictures : " We Swedes are quite cowardly" "All that was happening before as well , " Wallensteen remarked . "The important thing is how society as a whole reacts to it - and society is clearly against it and tries to make counter moves . In the riots , for instance , counter moves include integration projects instead of sending in police. It' s a classical Swedish way of dealing with things. " Wallensteen said it would be interesting to see how the extremist Swedes fighting abroad would be handled. "But again , I think the solution is to think about it in terms of prevention , what went wrong , and what we need to do better . " Foreign Minister Carl Bildt stressed that peace in Sweden is not the only priority in the globalized society of today, however - and Sweden cannot float on the status quo , but must engage actively to continue peace . "Let 's not forget that peace is far away in many places , " Bildt told The Local. "Europe is in the most difficult strategic times that I can remember . The situation is extremely fragile to the east and to the south . The Syrian war has created a massive humanitarian disaster , and the recent developments in Iraq are also alarming . " "In this respect, let ' s hope the coming 200 years will be more successful for the world than the previous ones ." Http://thelocal.se//20140815/sweden-celebrates-200-years-of-peace 2 Likes |
Re: Sweden Celebrates 200 Years Of Peace by pussygotlips: 3:33pm On Aug 17, 2014 |
Chaiii, When will my dear country celebrate even six months |
Re: Sweden Celebrates 200 Years Of Peace by cirmuell(m): 3:47pm On Aug 17, 2014 |
I can tell you that some set of people were not given breathing space there and let hope they don't find their way to that place. |
Re: Sweden Celebrates 200 Years Of Peace by 2cato: 8:23pm On Aug 17, 2014 |
Introduce islam into the country and that will be the last they heard from peaceful peace. 5 Likes |
Re: Sweden Celebrates 200 Years Of Peace by Nobody: 4:30pm On Aug 20, 2014 |
Breaking news!:Nigeria celebrates 35 minutes of "peace" ! |
Re: Sweden Celebrates 200 Years Of Peace by Nobody: 7:02pm On Aug 20, 2014 |
Interesting that one of the world's most "peaceful" countries is also one of its greatest arms exporters. |
Re: Sweden Celebrates 200 Years Of Peace by Nobody: 9:51am On Aug 21, 2014 |
Some people wont be happy with this landmark. They will soon try to rope sweden into a war |
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