KYIV – National resilience has long been defined by military strength and defense spending. But policymakers are starting to recognize that culture is a critical component of domestic security for democratic countries.
The Munich Security Conference last year held discussions on the role of culture in European stability. Danish Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt captured the emerging consensus, saying that democracy “is nurtured in our libraries, museums, cinemas, archives and theaters — spaces where people learn to think critically, to empathize and to belong.”
This recognition could not be timelier. Cultural identity worldwide is under pressure from the forces reshaping modern societies: war, large-scale migration, rapid urbanization, technological development and demographic change. The erosion of shared culture and belonging has become one of our era’s defining challenges.
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