If democracy has no value for us, we will not defend it, says psychologist about Czechs' willingness to go to war
According to research, we belong to the countries that would resist foreign military occupation. We are increasingly distancing ourselves from Slovaks and other countries such as Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria. Among those interested in military service in our country, the young prevail.
The security situation in Europe is becoming an increasingly frequent topic of discussion in light of ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine. In this context, the question also arises whether we would be able to defend ourselves if someone attacked us.
Defending one's own country is not that simple
The overwhelming majority of us, according to a March CVVM survey, are convinced that the sovereignty of the state must be defended at all costs. As many as 81 percent of Czechs stated that they would defend their country if it were attacked. Only Poland recorded a better result, specifically 84 percent.
According to a June survey by the STEM agency, more than half of the people declared their willingness to participate in the defense of the state.
"We tried to ask a series of questions. The first one is whether respondents would be willing to engage with a weapon in active defense if the Czech Republic was attacked militarily. 28 percent of respondents answered this question positively. We asked the rest of them if they would be willing to get involved in a supporting role, such as logistics, IT, or healthcare, to which 53 percent of the remaining respondents responded positively,"
The analyst of the agency, Jiří Táborský, explained to LP-Life.
Among those interested in military service, young men aged 18 to 29 prevail. Lesser willingness is shown by people with lower education. Higher demand is characteristic for short-term military exercises, where participants receive the basics of how to behave in crisis situations.
According to the CVVM analysis, two fifths of Czechs believe that our army is at a comparable level with the armies of Western countries. However, 39 percent of respondents believe that defense expenditures only unnecessarily burden the budget.
Slovakia Turns East
However, the situation is a bit different for our eastern neighbors and some other countries.
"Slovakia is an exception in the whole region, as only 49 percent of people would go to fight for their own country,"
said Katarína Klingová, an analyst at the Center for Democracy and Resilience of Globsec, for the Czech News Agency and added:
"Every year it shows that Czechs and Slovaks are not similar. The gap between both brotherly countries is becoming much bigger."
The mentioned trend is also confirmed by the current investigation of the local agency Scio, according to which the military neutrality of Slovakia would be acceptable to a large part of the local society. Only about a third of the population has explicitly negative stance towards it. Even more shocking is the conclusion that a full 14 percent of Slovaks would have no problem with aligning with Russia.
Local political commentator Šimon Žďarský noted that especially among the older Slovak generation, the word neutrality is associated with security and prosperity, which they experienced in contrast to Czechoslovakia, and which their neighbors in Austria experienced during the Cold War.
We are pursuing a pro-Western course
At the same time, a full 52 percent of Slovakia's population believes that Ukraine should give up part of its territory in the interest of establishing peace. The same position is held by 38 percent of Czechs. In Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, according to the survey, the majority of residents are convinced that providing military support to Ukraine, which has been resisting the Russian invasion since February 2022, is prolonging the war. In the Czech Republic, only 45 percent of people hold this opinion.
The assertion that we belong to the West is also supported by other CVVM research figures. Four fifths of us are satisfied with the country's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. On the contrary, about 13 percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction. Almost four fifths of Czech citizens are convinced of the need for NATO at the present time. More than half of Czechs would even support the creation of their own European army. This idea is positively rated by 43 percent of survey participants.
From the findings of intelligence services and the statements of some politicians, it is clear that Russian influence remains a threat in Central and Eastern Europe. That's why it's so important not to underestimate defense and other related areas.
"If democracy, institutions, and the state have no value for us and we do not believe in them, we will not defend them. A weaker adversary will ensure victory in this way,"
Eva Klusová from the Psychological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic warned LP-Life.cz.
Sources: author's text, own querying, ČTK, STEM, CVVM, Scio
