EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
| 1. | LEGACY. Finland has come a long way since the wars, hot and cold, of the twentieth century. In the process, the country has learned to manage complexity in international relations and security affairs, combining a demonstrated will to defend itself and to find a modus vivendi and establish a stable relationship with Russia. As the benign strategic context of the post-Cold War era gives way to a harsher and less predictable dispensation, Finland needs to adapt yet again to changing circumstances. This assessment of the effects of possible NATO membership will fulfill its purpose if it contributes to that adaptation. |
| 2. | EUROPE. Finland is a Western country, a member of the broader family of like-minded democracies. In this regard, the post-Cold War era was a homecoming with EU membership in 1995. This European dimension is part and parcel of Finland’s new identity. As a result, Finland ceased to view itself as a non-aligned country once the EU treaties included military assistance clauses, with its legislation being reviewed accordingly, even while maintaining its policy of not joining military alliances. Given its full European integration, Finland shares the broader strategic concerns of its EU partners, along with the rising challenges to both East and South of the continent. However, the EU does not possess the institutions and capabilities to deal with the full range of these strategic concerns by itself. Finland remains deeply aware that there is no solution to the specific strategic dilemma posed by its unpredictable neighbour, which requires continuous management. Nor is it prudent to assume that a common European security and defence policy (CSDP) capable of doing so will emerge in the foreseeable future. The same applies mutatis mutandis to regional cooperation, which is both absolutely necessary but clearly not sufficient given ongoing security challenges. |
| 3. | CONVERGENCE. Finland has developed a policy of engagement with all partners and organisations contributing each in their own way to security in Europe, notably the OSCE, Nordic cooperation, the EU and NATO. Finland, like Sweden, is nearly as close to the Atlantic Alliance as it is possible to be for a non-member state, reaching a plateau. This convergence at military and diplomatic levels has in turn led to a considera- |
THE EFFECTS OF FINLAND'S POSSIBLE NATO MEMBERSHIP ● AN ASSESSMENT | 5
