NNOMY

February 15, 2026 / NNOMY staff / The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth - Militarism survives not only through weapons and budgets, but also through the stories it tells about who we are supposed to be. These stories are deeply gendered. They determine how young people imagine adulthood, how they understand strength, how they interpret desire, and how they decide what future awaits them. At the heart of this narrative architecture is the sexualization of women: a mechanism so normalized that it often goes unnoticed, yet powerful enough to shape the entire emotional logic of military recruitment. The military recruitment machine relies on a very specific version of masculinity. It is a masculinity defined by toughness, emotional control, physical dominance, and a willingness to use violence in the name of the nation. This is not an accidental cultural consequence; it is a cultivated identity. Recruitment campaigns promise transformation: the insecure boy becomes the self-assured man, the invisible youth becomes someone who inspires respect, the social outcast becomes the admired protector. The institution is presented as a forge of manhood, and the imagery surrounding it constantly reinforces this promise.

February 09, 2026 / NNOMY staff / The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth - When the war in Ukraine erupted into global headlines, many young people in the United States saw images of drones buzzing over trenches, soldiers coordinating attacks through phone apps, and cyber teams defending entire cities from digital sabotage. It looked like a different kind of war—high‑tech, fast‑moving, and unpredictable. What’s less visible is how closely the U.S. military has been watching these developments, and how the lessons drawn from Ukraine are now shaping the strategies, budgets, and recruitment messages aimed at American youth.

9 de febrero de 2026 / Personal de NNOMY / La Red Nacional Contra la Militarización de la Juventud - Cuando la guerra en Ucrania irrumpió en los titulares internacionales, muchos jóvenes en Estados Unidos vieron imágenes de drones sobrevolando trincheras, soldados coordinando ataques mediante aplicaciones móviles y equipos cibernéticos defendiendo ciudades enteras del sabotaje digital. Parecía una guerra diferente: de alta tecnología, rápida e impredecible. Lo que es menos visible es la estrecha vigilancia del ejército estadounidense sobre estos acontecimientos y cómo las lecciones aprendidas en Ucrania están moldeando las estrategias, los presupuestos y los mensajes de reclutamiento dirigidos a la juventud estadounidense.

February 1, 2026 / NNOMY staff / National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth - Young people today are coming of age inside an economic and social order unlike anything previous generations have known. Their daily lives unfold within a digital landscape dominated by a handful of technology companies that shape how they communicate, work, learn, and even imagine their futures. Scholars increasingly describe this system as techno‑feudalism1 — a world where platform monopolies function less like businesses and more like private fiefdoms, controlling access to opportunity and mediating nearly every aspect of social life. For youth, this is not an abstract theory. It is the environment they navigate from the moment they wake up and check their phones.