Neutrality in Europe after 2022

Check out these two videos by @PerunAU for more in-depth information on European defense after 2022:

Neutrality has for centuries been a part of European politics. It is very significant therefore that Finland and Sweden have recently decided to abandon their neutrality to seek out NATO membership. In this video I would like to discuss what the consequences for the other neutral states of Europe may consequently be.

Correcting some errors in the video.

1: Swiss mandatory military service does not last 5 years. I have a Swiss friend who told me that it took him 5 years to complete his service. And I have assumed from then on that it takes 5 years. I did not know that the Swiss have the option of splitting up their mandatory service over a time period of 5 years or completing it all at once within one single year. In actuality, Swiss mandatory military service lasts 245 days.

2: Czechoslovakia was not allied to Britain, but only to France, before the Munich agreement.

Clearing up misunderstandings:

BAE is not a Swedish defense corporation, but a British one. It aquired the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 2000s. When editing the video I was unsure if I should add in the old Bofors logo, or the BAE logo. If I added the Bofors logo, people would have pointed out that Bofors no longer exists, if I added the BAE logo, people would have pointed out that the company is British. In the end I chose to go with the BAE logo, because even though it is owned principally by the British and based in Britain, BAE operates a substantial arms industry in Sweden. The now famous "NLAW" for example was mainly developed in Sweden.

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[nekrodex]

As a Swiss person I have to correct the statement about serving a minimum of 5 years: we only have mandatory basic training (18 weeks) + yearly repetition courses (3 weeks each) until you have served your mandatory 240 days

[Huminahumina]

To be fair about Costa Rica’s lack of a military, America basically guarantees the protection of them, Panama, and other small islands since democratic backyard

[starmaker]

Neutral expectations: peace and love

Neutral in reality: make the country a fort or be steam roll

[Daniel.Liddicoat]

That tangent about Yugoslavia was magic. I had always assumed the country collapsed because Tito died. I learned something new today.

[trygveplaustrum]

One thing's for certain after the invasion of Ukraine:
*No nation with nuclear weapons is ever going to give them up.*
Nuclear weaponry, whether or not it was a deterrent before, certainly appears like one now.

[easy_eight]

As a Vietnamese, it's very interesting to see how neutrality in Europe has progress to adapt with different historical events. Vietnam itself now is also trying to be neutral, being right under China while having the US as a strategic deterrence in the South China Sea. I hope you'll do an official video on us soon!

[ZCid]

I love how Perun whent from small gaming channel to THE one channel that everyone point out if you want to start to undertand something as complex as defense economics

[themfwestcoast]

As a swede and political scientist, I just want to say that Swedish neutrality is vastly overstated. During WW2 we sent most of our weapons to Finland, 10K volunteer soldiers and threatened the USSR with war after the peace treaty with Finland was too harsh. During the cold war we had escape plan for our leaders to flee to the UK and USA, we spied on the USSR for NATO and even built our airfields to fit NATO planes. We still made deals with the USA even as Palme was protesting the Vietnam War. And Russia knew all of this. And we still spoke our minds on the international stages, and pissing of western countries. And this did not stop after we joined the EU, and I don’t think it will after Sweden becomes an official part of NATO.

[Lontracanadenss]

11:50 as a Casual EU4 player, I am guilty of enforcing nuetrality upon my victim states to make conquest easier. The fact a historical example exists is fascinating and horrifying.

[jackotaco]

Greetings from Gothenburg. In Sweden we have a specific phrase for what you referred to as active neutrality “Humanitär Stormakt” translated as “humanitarian great power” A phrase often used by Social democratic politicians for what Sweden in their mind should be or should act. It also has a double meaning since the Swedish empire is referred to here as “Stormaktstiden” translated to as “great power era” which says a lot about how we Swedes viewed our active neutrality as you called it

[adamlakeman]

"Czechoslovakia was allied to Britain"
No it wasn't. Sorry Kraut, rookie error. Czechoslovakia was allied to *France* and *France* was allied to Britain. There was no direct Anglo-Czech agreement, which was the point of the Munich Agreement. Britain was terrified of getting dragged into a German-Czech war that it had nothing to do with by it's French ally, as getting pulled into a war by your allies had been a repeating feature of World War 1.
The rest of your point is fine though.

[warrcoww]

“What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with heart full of neutrality?” -Zapp Brannigan

[chickenspaceprogram]

Love how Perun just burst onto the scene after the Ukraine war and is now like one of the most respected military analysts on YT now.

[Stoneworks]

Always love to hear your takes, Kraut. I may not agree all the time, but they certainly make me think!

[xenamorphwinner]

“Why is Hungary a NATO member?”
Good question, I mean even Poland has started since the war to fell out with Hungary and in Lithuania we refer to Obran literally as “Prostitute for gas”

[surviver]

I am surprised Kraut, you didn’t highlight Turkey’s attempts to strong arm Finland and Sweden out of their sympathies to towards the Kurds by single handedly delaying their ascension to NATO. Turkey in this case extracted a price from both in their abandoning neutrality. Just thought I’d drop this here as an additional point, great video as always!

[Gallalad]

Ireland is a very active memeber in the UN and has been basically since the league of nations. Ireland and Canada I'd argue are similar as they represent the multilateralists, wanting to solve issues via multilateral bodies like the UN and ECHR. Ireland was also in the Congo along with the Lebanon, Liberia and dozens of other conflict zones. I dont think we'll adopt a domestic arms industry though. Thats a vast overestimation of what Ireland is willing to do. The current coalition barely increases defence and their opposition is led by Sinn Fein who think we're already not neutral enough and I don't see them ever increasing funding for the army. Ireland will have to rely on the UK and USA for security guarantees as we have in the past. Its a weird thing

[kingace]

Side Note: I love how Kraut always shoutouts other channels in almost every single video, and redirects us to further-detailed information. That's the quality of a supportive community.

[ionaclo]

Great video! One small correction though, Switzerland has actually fought in several wars since 500 years ago, notably the Napoleonic Wars. It was at the Congress of Vienna (1815) that Swiss Neutrality was ratified. Interestingly, the ratification was delayed by the coalitions when Napoleon left exile. The coalition countries finally granted Swiss neutrality after the end of the War of the 7th Coalition. So it has been closer to 200 years, not 500 years, that Swiss neutrality has been in place.

[adamlawrence]

Outstanding commentary and summary of current events unfolding in Europe, please continue making such well thought out and capitvating content.