ABSTRACT
States that share borders with aggressive neighboring countries tend to rely on the comprehensive defence paradigm to deal with hybrid threats as well as conventional war. This presupposes a cohesive society and the public will to support defence architecture and be part of defence creation. Usually, in states with a comprehensive defence paradigm, societal cohesion and readiness to resist threats to sovereignty and welfare are expected to be very high. However, the diversification of societies, mediatization—the influence of mass media over other sectors of society—and polarization have challenged this process. This chapter focuses on perceived security threats and the individual readiness to support and be part of national defence across different ethnic groups. Data is taken from the Estonian public opinion survey “Estonian Public Opinion on national defence” from 2000 to 2022. The findings show that, regarding societal cohesion measured as trust in institutions, we witness the process of ethnic polarization—the discrepancy between ethnic groups has increased. The discrepancy is expressed in relatively high intent to resist and trust toward defence institutions of the main ethnic group, who are more ready to interpret threats as risks to welfare and well-being, independent statehood, nationality, and culture.
