Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity

The article examines Finland's case within the framework of current discussions on the relevance of neutrality policy. It is widely believed that Finland's neutrality arose during the cold war as a result of a pragmatic assessment of the general world order at that time. The military non-a...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal:	N. Yu. Vezhlivtseva
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN RU
Publicado:	MGIMO University Press 2019
Materias:	russia finland sweden foreign policy good neighborly relations northern cooperation non-alignment bridge-building International relations JZ2-6530
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1a564cc141d144da838e2891013769a2
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:1a564cc141d144da838e2891013769a2
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1a564cc141d144da838e2891013769a22021-11-23T14:50:41ZFinland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity2071-81602541-909910.24833/2071-8160-2019-2-65-86-100https://doaj.org/article/1a564cc141d144da838e2891013769a22019-05-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.vestnik.mgimo.ru/jour/article/view/924https://doaj.org/toc/2071-8160https://doaj.org/toc/2541-9099The article examines Finland's case within the framework of current discussions on the relevance of neutrality policy. It is widely believed that Finland's neutrality arose during the cold war as a result of a pragmatic assessment of the general world order at that time. The military non-alignment is regarded from this perspective as a rational and necessary policy for a small state in the bipolar world. After the cold war some politicians and researches argued that under the new conditions the policy of military neutrality is not relevant anymore and that belonging to the Western community is the only choice. However, Finland's military non-alignment policy and reliance on self-defense have remained unchanged for almost three decades. Finnish authorities have consistently pursued this line with a strong support of the majority of population. The reasons for that cannot be explained only as a rational political choice of a small state in certain geopolitical realities, the issue is more complex. Some Finnish researchers consider neutrality as part of the Finnish national identity. Using this approach, the author examines the genesis and development of neutrality policy as part of its national identity, which evolved at the junction of East and West. The article examines the influence of Sweden and Russia on the development of Finland’s statehood and its foreign policy. Sweden determined the political structures and inculcated Finns with the Scandinavian identity. The role of Russia in the beginning of Finnish statehood was crucial. It formed the subsequent Eastern vector of Finland’s foreign policy. The symbiosis of Western (Swedish) and Eastern (Russian) vectors gives Finland additional advantages, allowing a small state to claim the role of a «bridge-builder» between East and West. The author concludes that this complex combination has created the prerequisites for neutrality expressed in the policy of military non-alignment. Neutrality as a part of Finnish national identity has deep historical roots. It was born together with the Finnish statehood and has been staying with it despite all the changes in international environment.N. Yu. VezhlivtsevaMGIMO University Pressarticlerussiafinlandswedenforeign policygood neighborly relationsnorthern cooperationnon-alignmentbridge-buildingInternational relationsJZ2-6530ENRUVestnik MGIMO-Universiteta, Vol 0, Iss 2(65), Pp 86-100 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN RU
topic	russia finland sweden foreign policy good neighborly relations northern cooperation non-alignment bridge-building International relations JZ2-6530
spellingShingle	russia finland sweden foreign policy good neighborly relations northern cooperation non-alignment bridge-building International relations JZ2-6530 N. Yu. Vezhlivtseva Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity
description	The article examines Finland's case within the framework of current discussions on the relevance of neutrality policy. It is widely believed that Finland's neutrality arose during the cold war as a result of a pragmatic assessment of the general world order at that time. The military non-alignment is regarded from this perspective as a rational and necessary policy for a small state in the bipolar world. After the cold war some politicians and researches argued that under the new conditions the policy of military neutrality is not relevant anymore and that belonging to the Western community is the only choice. However, Finland's military non-alignment policy and reliance on self-defense have remained unchanged for almost three decades. Finnish authorities have consistently pursued this line with a strong support of the majority of population. The reasons for that cannot be explained only as a rational political choice of a small state in certain geopolitical realities, the issue is more complex. Some Finnish researchers consider neutrality as part of the Finnish national identity. Using this approach, the author examines the genesis and development of neutrality policy as part of its national identity, which evolved at the junction of East and West. The article examines the influence of Sweden and Russia on the development of Finland’s statehood and its foreign policy. Sweden determined the political structures and inculcated Finns with the Scandinavian identity. The role of Russia in the beginning of Finnish statehood was crucial. It formed the subsequent Eastern vector of Finland’s foreign policy. The symbiosis of Western (Swedish) and Eastern (Russian) vectors gives Finland additional advantages, allowing a small state to claim the role of a «bridge-builder» between East and West. The author concludes that this complex combination has created the prerequisites for neutrality expressed in the policy of military non-alignment. Neutrality as a part of Finnish national identity has deep historical roots. It was born together with the Finnish statehood and has been staying with it despite all the changes in international environment.
format	article
author	N. Yu. Vezhlivtseva
author_facet	N. Yu. Vezhlivtseva
author_sort	N. Yu. Vezhlivtseva
title	Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity
title_short	Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity
title_full	Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity
title_fullStr	Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity
title_full_unstemmed	Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity
title_sort	finland’s neutrality as part of its national identity
publisher	MGIMO University Press
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/1a564cc141d144da838e2891013769a2
work_keys_str_mv	AT nyuvezhlivtseva finlandsneutralityaspartofitsnationalidentity
_version_	1718416630521790464

Finland’s Neutrality as Part of Its National Identity

Ejemplares similares