Militarism is not just a war, an army or a fighter jet. Militarism is a system, a logic and a set of norms that perpetuates and recreates our societies and our daily lives. Queer analysis of power...
Having defence as a subject in school could help increase the number of pupils who want to enlist in the armed forces, according to a new Swedish study.
The report published in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter revealed that making defence a school subject and inviting everybody in the country who is 18 to an annual armed forces day could help boost numbers.
Since compulsory military service was scrapped in 2010, it has become more difficult to entice potential new recruits into the army.
In this article we will explain how we understand in what ways politics about gender, sexuality and war are related to each other. We will also tell you about some actions Ofog (anti-militarist network) did against the Swedish Armed Forces participation in the last Pride festival (August 2011).
I as Director of the Vocational Training Centre for former Child Soldiers implemented programmes for UNICEF including how to get children who were caught up in the war back into the mainstream of life – to get them back into school or vocational activities...Reduce or eliminate all sort of inequalities and violence will be reduced. If there is no violence, there would be no need for child soldiers... - Domino Frank Suleiman, Liberia
The way that I ended up joining the military was that when I was a senior in high school I intended to go to college but I didn't have any way to pay for it...I talked to an army recruiter [about an army scholarship] and he made it sound really good...Any time between signing the contract and going to basic training, you can change your mind and there won't be any consequences. Of course, the recruiters won't tell you that – they'll threaten legal consequences etc... - Kelly Dougherty, USA
They are constantly selling the idea that Venezuela is going to be invaded by the United States and in the face of this external threat...there is a permanent feeling of being on the verge of war or armed conflict...They always say that the United State wants Venezuela’s oil, however our president Chávez negotiated with transnational energy companies for 30 to 40 years. This means that that argument is invalid... - Rafael Uzcategui, Venezuela
At our 2012 conference in Darmstadt, Germany, we recorded interviews with activists talking about militarisation of youth in their own contexts.
In this interview, Cattis, from Swedish antimilitarist group Ofog speaks about militarisation and recruitment in Sweden.
The photo shows an action described in the interview, when Ofog took action at Stockholm Pride. The speech bubble reads 'speech bubble saying: "Here I am walking defending my human rights while my job is about violating other people's human rights"
WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.