Browsing by Subject "defence cooperation"
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(2024)This thesis investigates the phenomenon of security and defence political rapprochement between Finland and Sweden in 2009-2022, exploring the hypothesis of bilateral shelter-seeking in response to a deteriorating security environment. The study examines the changes in and alignment of threat perceptions, substantive security dimensions therein, and the formulation of policy objectives in bilateral cooperation, against the backdrop of the worsening security environment owing to the increasingly aggressive neighbour politics by Russia since 2008. This research problem posits two research questions: (1) “What kinds of security and defence political threat perceptions did the changing regional security dynamics invoke in Finland and Sweden, particularly in light of Russia’s increasingly aggressive neighbour politics, since 2008?”, and (2) “What roles did the Finnish-Swedish bilateral cooperation play in the security and defence policies of Finland and Sweden during the period under study?”. Qualitative answers to these questions are obtained through document analysis, process tracing, and content analysis of official government reports on security and defence policies issued between 2009-2022. Moreover, the study deploys an additional conceptual tool, drawing from the work of Christopher Daase, to analyse the substantive dimensions of security evident in the threats perceived. The theoretical framework of small states and shelter theory suggests that small states naturally seek alliances, patrons, and international organizations for political, economic, and societal shelter from external security threats. The findings of the analysis reveal a gradual convergence in threat perceptions, and in the substantive dimensions therein, and a notable development in bilateral cooperation objectives since 2015, suggesting a deliberate move towards seeking shelter amidst escalating security challenges. The study contributes to small state studies by applying small states and shelter theory to an unexplored case and sheds light on the role of bilateral cooperation as a source of shelter in navigating complex security threats. Limitations include the relatively niche policy focus, potential data constraints, and challenges in establishing causality between bilateral cooperation and perceived threats, indicating the need for further research in broader policy areas.
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(2023)This master's thesis compares two quite different areas of Nordic cooperation, the passport union and defence cooperation. The research question seeks to find answers to whether the failures of the passport union have been connected to the advantages in defence policy and if they have not, which factor have promoted the shift of attention form passport union to defence cooperation. I seek to demonstrate how the atmosphere in cooperation has changes and the time of growing cooperation and supranationalism is turning to a traditional realist, intergovernmental cooperation. The first form of cooperation, the passport union, at the time of its founding in the 1950s was distinctively deep form of cooperation, especially considering being a traditionally sensitive political area.. The importance of defence cooperation, on the other hand, has increased especially in the 2010s and thereafter due to the changes in the European security environment. The most important events are the Russian conquest of the Crimean peninsula and later the war in Ukraine, as well as Finland's and Sweden's NATO application in 2022. Both areas, defence, and the passport union, include a lot of other international cooperation, the most important of which is the Schengen area in connection to the passport union and NATO in defence cooperation. By comparing these two areas, we see the many forms of Nordic cooperation and changes in the most important themes over the decades. With the definition of the borders, the quality of the passport union becomes evident. Borders are diverse, can create inequality and equality, unite and separate people, and act as the physical borders of the state, representing states’ power and rights. With the diversity of borders, their opening has been a significant step in Nordic cooperation. Even though the passport union has faced challenges, it is still in operation and plays a significant role as a builder and facilitator of Nordic cooperation. Defence cooperation, on the other hand, has largely developed under international organizations. The most important of these is NATO, whose founding members Denmark, Norway and Iceland were, and to which Finland and Sweden submitted their application to join in 2022. Cooperation under the European Union as well as commitment to UN and NATO exercises and peacekeeping have also developed Nordic cooperation in defence forces. NORDEFCO, founded in 2009, is important achievement as a facilitator of Nordic cooperation outside other institutions. By using the reports and texts of the Foreign Policy Institute and its Nordic counterparts, we get a picture of the effects of crises to these chosen policy areas. These crises are most prominently the 2015 refugee crisis, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's attack on Ukraine. The historical analysis is based on academic literature as well as political statements, opinion polls and news articles. When comparing these two areas of cooperation, it is clear that global events have affected the level of cooperation, and cooperation often sparks as a reaction to external events. Because of this, defence cooperation has been more significant and received more attention in the recent years. The passport union is still a significant part of cooperation, but it seems that its peak has already passed, and other things are attracting more attention. At the same time, international cooperation around the world is experiencing similar changes. The conclusion is that whereas it is true that the passport union has struggled while the defence has bloomed, the changing focus has been due to global events. However, while the hypothesis was that similar events were failures for one and successes for the other, the most important events shaping cooperation have been different.
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