How Cold War nations shaped public minds before the bombs fell
Denmark's government adopted psychological defense programs from Sweden and Norway to prepare citizens mentally for nuclear war—an early playbook for state control of public morale. The strategy evolved into modern media management tactics, revealing how governments weaponize information to maintain social cohesion during existential threats.
Originaltitel: Cold War conduct: knowledge transfer, psychological defence, and media preparedness in Denmark between Sweden, Norway, and NATO, 1954–1967: Knowledge transfer, psychological defence and media preparedness in Denmark between Sweden, Norway and NATO, 1954–1967
<p>Employing the Foucauldian term ‘conduct’, this article explores how social resilience and morale became a target of state intervention in Denmark during the Cold War. ‘Psychological defence’ was a Cold War phenomenon designed to bring an imagined future war into a space of control as well as a tool for the authorities’ exercise of power in case another world war became a reality. Advocating a methodological internationalism, the article analyses how the concept of psychological defence travelled from Sweden to Denmark via Norway and NATO, and in a complex process of translation, mixing and hybridization was adapted and appropriated to Danish security policy conditions, preparedness culture, and historical experiences. Ultimately, psychological defence was replaced with a more practical or even cynical approach to public information and media preparedness, even if the objectives remained the same. The article employs source material from Danish, Swedish, and NATO archives and combines Scandinavian Cold War history with media history and the history of knowledge.</p>