Transformations of cultural heritage in times of war preparedness and insecurity

The war in Ukraine and the military build-up in Europe have drawn attention to the role of cultural heritage for Sweden’s defence strategy.

Security discourse now emphasizes the significance of collective memory for national defence, and heritage and security actors launch joint outreach activities. When preserving the past is framed as a matter of security, heritage institutions gain a new role.

This raises fundamental questions about cultural institutions’ autonomy as well as about the purpose of heritage and how it should be displayed and narrated.This transdisciplinary project explores how cultural heritage becomes a means to prepare citizens for war and strengthen national unity and resilience.

It specifically aims to examine the uses of Sweden’s military heritage in times of increasing insecurity. How is military heritage mobilised as a national security resource? What new meanings are accorded military heritage and history?

The project unites researchers from international relations, ethnology, gender studies, and art- and architectural history.

We examine reformulations of heritage as a matter for war preparedness and how this is motivated in policy and by heritage and security actors.

Through comparing fieldwork materials and documentation of military heritage sites from before and after the Russian invasion, we will be able to identify changes in exhibitions and in how actors make sense of the nation’s past, particularly its legacy of neutrality and gender equality