“We’ve been living in a fixed place for a few thousand years now, but long before that people roamed the steppes in small groups and had to fight for survival,” says Tim Sweijs, research director at the Strategic Research Center The Hague Studia in The Strategist program.
This means that it is human nature to wage war, thinks Sweijs. “We are called Homo sapiens, the wise. But we are also people who tell stories, we love to tell each other stories. This allows us to also be warlike human beings.’
Stories build a group connection, she says. ‘You share a story with each other and communicate about it. Just think of Holland. Our national anthem, the Wilhelmus, was born out of the story of a warlord, William of Orange, who mobilized us against the Spanish.”
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Human aspect
Gijs Tuinman, a lieutenant colonel in the Dutch Armed Forces, also sees this human aspect: when we talk about war, we talk about tanks, planes and drones. But also of immaterial objectives such as security, cooperation, progress. Although in reality it is a human twist where we try to impose each other’s will. One has something the other wants, and vice versa.”
“Amputation, penicillin and GPS navigation are consequences of a war”
Gardener, fought extensively in Afghanistan and was awarded the Military William Order. He sees a certain balance. ‘On the one hand they have the power of love, on the other the power of hate. It’s like Yin and Yang in us.’
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Don’t accept it, but be aware
According to Tim Sweijs, this helps us understand that war can always arise. “It shows that war runs very deep in people. We shouldn’t accept that, but you should be aware that war is always there,” he says. Violence can turn into a big war. Ukrainian and Russian soldiers experience this every day».
Both Tuinman and Sweijs point out that a war also has good sides. “As awful as it is. But things like amputation, penicillin and GPS navigation are consequences of a war.’