CHALLENGING THE VETERAN VICTIM NARRATIVE ⟩ Series of Swedish Studies Suggest Veterans Are More Resilient Than Expected

Photo: Reuters Photographer

26th August 2024, 09:25

A 20-year study on Swedish peacekeeping veterans challenges the belief that military deployment inevitably leads to long-term negative effects. The study suggests that the initial challenges faced by these veterans may be more closely linked to the socioeconomic context in their homeland rather than the military deployment experience itself.

In the early 1990s, the Balkans were engulfed in a brutal conflict, and Sweden, committed to international peace efforts, deployed over 7,000 soldiers to Bosnia. These peacekeepers, many of whom were young conscripts, volunteered to serve in a region ravaged by violence and war crimes. Their mission was marked by intense challenges, including occasional ambushes and the harrowing experience of witnessing atrocities such as the Stupni Do massacre.

The question of what happened to these soldiers after they returned home has been a subject of both concern and curiosity. A recent study by Peter Bäckström offers new insights into their long-term outcomes, particularly their reintegration into the civilian labor market. This comprehensive analysis tracked 2,275 Swedish veterans who served in Bosnia between 1993 and 1999, following them for up to 20 years after their deployment.

Swedish IFOR (Implementation Force) soldiers try unsuccesfully to stop a crowd of Bosnian refugees trying to return to their homes in the village of Sjenina in northern Bosnia. Photo: DESMOND BOYLAN

Initial findings from the study revealed that these veterans faced a significant increase in unemployment immediately after returning home. In the first year post-deployment, about 20% of the veterans experienced long-term unemployment, a figure that steadily declined over the following years. By the end of the 20-year follow-up period, the rate had dropped to approximately 1%, aligning closely with the general population.

However, this short-term unemployment spike was not indicative of long-term marginalization. On the contrary, the study found that in the long run, these veterans did not suffer from higher rates of work disability or reliance on social welfare compared to their non-deployed peers. In fact, by the 20th year after deployment, veterans were slightly less likely to be unemployed or disabled than those who had not served.

One of the study's most compelling aspects is its exploration of the reasons behind the temporary rise in unemployment among veterans. Bäckström suggests that the timing of their return—during a deep recession in Sweden—played a significant role. Veterans returning in the early 1990s faced an economy in crisis, with high unemployment rates that likely compounded the challenges of reintegrating into civilian life. This economic context, rather than the experience of deployment itself, may explain the initial difficulties faced by these veterans.

A Swedish UN soldier stands quard in front of Tuzla's air base in Bosnia. The air base housed the headquarters for up to 20,000 US troops as part of a NATO deployment to Bosnia. Photo: YANNIS BEHRAKIS

Concrete examples from the study highlight the resilience of these soldiers. For instance, veterans who were deployed in the earlier years of the conflict, such as those in the first Swedish battalion in 1993, faced particularly tough conditions both during and after their service. Despite these hardships, they were able to establish themselves in the labor market over time, with their rates of employment and disability eventually mirroring or even improving upon those of non-veterans.

The study’s findings challenge the often-held perception that military deployment, especially in conflict zones, leads to inevitable long-term negative outcomes. Instead, it underscores the importance of considering broader economic conditions and the inherent resilience of individuals when assessing the impact of such experiences.

This research aligns with other studies on Nordic peacekeepers, which have similarly found that these soldiers generally do not suffer from increased rates of suicide, violent crime, or psychiatric disorders compared to the general population.

Previous studies on Swedish peacekeeping veterans tend to emphasise the physical and mental well-being of those who have served in international peace missions. One 2007 study published in Swedish Military Medicine magazine concluded that Swedish personnel serving in international peacekeeping operations from 1960 to 1999 did not have a higher risk of suicide compared to the general population.

This result was later confirmed by a 2017 study, where it was found that Swedish military veterans deployed between 1990 and 2013 did not differ from nondeployed comparators in terms of suicide or all-cause mortality.

Similar patterns have been observed in other Nordic countries. Subsequent studies have also shown that Swedish veterans deployed to Afghanistan did not have an increased risk of being convicted of violent crime, nor did they consume more anxiolytics or antidepressants, or receive more psychiatric inpatient care, than non-deployed comparators.

Niclas Wisén and his colleagues from Karolinska Institute studied stress levels over time for a sample of Swedish peacekeepers deployed to Afghanistan, challenging the general view of military deployment as an inevitable source of negative stress and argued for a shift in focus towards potential positive aspects of deployment.

Terms

veterans