Civic and Defence Education of Youth in the European Union Member States: A Comparative Analysis of Regulatory Models and Lessons for Ukraine

The article presents a comparative analysis of the regulatory frameworks governing civic and defence education of young people in the European Union and its Member States after 2022. The relevance of the study is determined by the security challenges caused by Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and by Ukraine's European integration, which requires the harmonisation of national-patriotic education with European standards. The study is based on documentary analysis of EU primary and secondary law, strategic documents and national legislation of eight Member States (Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France and Germany), complemented by comparative, structural-functional and modelling methods. It is shown that regulation in this field is multi-level: the Union shapes a common value framework and funding instruments, whereas the content and forms of education remain within national competence. Three national models are identified: the comprehensive (total) defence model, the school-based defence education model and the civic-democratic model. An expert matrix of six indicators demonstrates a convergence of these models after 2022 towards the integration of defence preparedness into civic education, while preserving democratic values as its normative core. The author proposes an integrative model of civic and defence education for Ukraine that combines the Nordic whole-of-society approach, the Baltic practice of compulsory school defence education and the European emphasis on democratic values. The findings can be used to update the content of training future officers in military higher education institutions.