A year of living less dangerously? Finland’s first 12 months in NATO
Al Jazeera
Finland’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been to move away from policy of self-reliance and embrace the alliance.
One year ago, Finland abandoned its longstanding tradition of neutrality and became NATO’s 31st member. This entry into the transatlantic military alliance marked a turning point in Finland’s approach to foreign and security policy.
It effectively saw Helsinki walking away from its post-WWII approach to Moscow, through which the Nordic country had always sought to preserve decent ties with the Kremlin.
Finland’s decision to join was the result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow’s actions towards Ukraine prompted policymakers in Helsinki and the majority of Finnish citizens to view NATO membership as the best way to deter Russia from ever invading their own country.
“The war [in Ukraine] led to a major threat evaluation caused by Russia’s vocal demands for sphere of influence, its appetite for risk-taking and readiness to use military force at a massive scale, as well as its nuclear coercion,” Matti Pesu, a leading researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), specialising in Northern European security, told Al Jazeera.
“NATO membership emerged as the only viable solution to fill this perceived ‘deterrence deficit’ in Finnish security. Currently, the prevailing view on Russia in Finland across the society is overwhelmingly negative, and Finland calls for hardline solutions both in EU and NATO,” explained Pesu.