Tag: military

Gods and guns

On allemansrätten – the right to roam
Something you don’t see in Sweden very much. If at all.
image source: www.emedco.com

One of the best things about Sweden is the ability to wander around freely in the woods, fields, and waterways. These places are open to everyone thanks to allemansrätten.  Allemansrätten is translated as the right of public access, but there are other inherent meanings. “Everyman’s right,” “freedom to roam,” and “right to roam” are a few.

Don’t disturb, don’t destroy

The concept allemansrätten is first found in the report of a commission on leisure activity in the late 1930s. The purpose of the commission was to find ways to make it easier for city dwellers to get out into nature more often.

Later in 1994, it was written into law that “every man should have access to nature in accordance with the right to roam.” The right itself, however, was never clearly defined. It is more a negative right, meaning you can mostly wander where you will as long as you “don’t disturb and don’t destroy.”

The right to roam has deep roots. Much of the romantic soul of Sweden is embodied in the majesty of the forest and in the wealth of mushrooms and berries found there. Walking in a forest is life-giving. It began with the gods.

The gods then created people from trees

In the Nordic creation myth, trees were created from the hair of the giant Ymir, who was slain by Odin and his brothers Vile and Vé. Some time later, while out walking by the sea, Odin and his brothers saw two trees, an ash tree and what some say was an elm tree. From these two trees they created people, Ask and Embla. Ask and Embla went on to populate Midgard.

The oak tree symbolized, and was dedicated to, Odin’s son, Thor (the god of thunder). If lightning struck and split an oak tree it was under no circumstances allowed to be cut down. It was considered Thor’s place of abode. In her book on oak trees, Åsa Torlind writes that one of the first things Christian missionaries did to convert the Scandinavian heathens was to burn down oak trees and forests. When no ill effects were felt, she writes, people drew the conclusion that the new god must be more powerful than the old gods. They were converted.

Don’t get shot

Felling trees is still not a simple issue. Nor is keeping meadows open by grazing cows and sheep. And even if no one owns the water, a company still can’t install wind turbines where it likes (see this post). Between military needs, the environment, commercial interests, and simple land ownership the right to roam isn’t as uncomplicated as it looks from the outside. Especially now when you might get shot.

It is well known that the military is going through a massive upgrade. There are more recruits, and more training exercises. This includes more active firing ranges. Previously, people have quite blithely, if illegally, walked by a warning sign to go picnicking in a meadow. Now, the message is that visiting your favorite little corner of the universe may put your life in danger.  

The right to roam has some limitations, as well as a number of responsibilities. The number one responsibility is perhaps making sure that there is nature left to go roam around in.

No defense budget agreement at all

military disarray continues
pic: thelocal.se

June 16th was the third, and last, date the government and opposition parties were to get it together and agree on the defense budget. Today, Minister for Defense Peter Hultqvist made an offer of no new money at all to Sweden’s national defense. The negotiations were shortly thereafter declared stone cold dead.

With no new funds, only about 40% of the need for reinforcements and additions to troops, ammo, carriers, training – the works – will be met, if that, according to SvD. This on top of the security crisis spoken of and worried about at top levels throughout Sweden and the rest of the world. We’ve just seen first hand how well Sweden’s crisis management works (Minister for the Interior, Michael Damberg is responsible for Sweden’s civil defense after all). Now the army will have its capacity cut from under them as well.

Christian Democrats, Moderates, Sweden Democrats, the Liberal party and even the Center party have all worked to increase monies to defense. The Social Democrats have only their usual associates the Green and Left parties at its side. The Left, for its part, is not opposed to a strong military, and can see a need to increase its capabilities if only to keep Sweden from being the easy target it looks like not being in NATO. Even the Green party says it wants a strong civil defense (though it otherwise writes that democracy and diplomacy are its foremost weapons). Since leading Social Democrat Björn von Sydow was the main writer of the original contract that significantly increased the military budget way back when the topic was first brought up and before Hultqvist reneged on it, even the Social Democrats could be split over backtracking on defense promises. However, most Social Democrats don’t really want to see an increased military budget, so saying “split” could be an exaggeration.

After the Swedish summer vacation, the government will have to put forth its own military budget plan. The opposition will do the same. Right now, the opposition has the numbers on its side, but the military will have to sit and twiddle its thumbs until autumn – and hope that Sweden’s security doesn’t face any challenges in the meantime. We still probably only have a week.