The existence of armed conflict during the Nordic Bronze Age (1800/1700 BC) is now accepted by most researchers, and different scales of conflict having been discussed in recent years ranging from interpersonal violence to open field battles with perhaps thousands of participants. However, violent conflict is still often portrayed as purely destructive social force that destroyed intercommunal ties. While the destructive nature of raiding and other forms of warfare cannot be denied, this contribution seeks to explore how such practices could also foster local and even regional cooperation. The data includes bronze weaponry and depictions of warriors in rock art. Incorporating this wealth of data, we can additionally suggest that previous models have underappreciated the prevalence of small-scale warfare practices such as raiding. Such practices may have led to a permanently shifting and changing network of conflict and cooperation which was a major contributing factor to the outward cultural homogeneity of the Nordic Bronze Age that we perceive today.