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  • Normative Power Europe as a Discourse in European Union’s Africa Strategy 
    Kangas, Mikko (2022)
    This thesis focuses on examining a popular concept in European Union’s foreign policy – Normative Power Europe. The thesis argues that we should adopt a different approach than is currently used to analyse Normative Power Europe. In here, the concept is seen as a foreign policy discourse, that has achieved a hegemonic position, and therefore dominated the conception of European Union’s role in international relations for the last decades. A special focus is turned on the relationship between European Union and African actors. The thesis examines Normative Power Europe discourse as a fundamental structure in European Union’s new Africa strategy, introduced in March 2020. The European Union has argued that the strategy builds on renewed partnership with Africa and aims to abolish the donor-recipient relationship between EU and Africa. The thesis draws on constructivist ontology in defining Normative Power Europe as a discourse. The writer argues that by choosing this type of approach, a researcher is able to critically examine the actorness and role of European Union. According to the constructivist ontology, the actorness of EU can be shaped and constructed. A discourse of Europe as normative power is a central element in the construction of European Union’s international role. The findings of this thesis show that European Union represents itself as a better option for Africa to form partnership with, instead of cooperation with such states as China and Russia. Norms and values of EU play an essential role when European Union persuades African actors to form partnership. The thesis argues that by constructing its global power and influence on normative superiority, the European Union risks creating a demand for itself and for its norms-based intervention without a legitimate justification for these actions. This is a problematic arrangement, and the thesis argues, that there is a demand for post-developmental theory in European Union’s foreign policy research.
  • The Arctic Bear Whisperer : Finland as an Arctic Ambassador in 1986–1989 
    Koskinen, Julia K. (2019)
    During the Cold War, the Arctic became a stage for the superpowers’ rivalry. The more ballistical armament was developed further, the more the Arctic armament increased. In the 1980s, the Arctic region was a region where the Cold War’s escalation was a real fear. Simultaneously the environmental questions started to concern more and more. Furthermore, although international agreements to protect nature had been negotiated and bilateral ones were being accelerated, there was no organisation for the Arctic dealing region as a whole. This lack of cooperation encountered with détente, the US and the Soviet Union’s leaders converged with rhetoric about restrictions on armaments. When Gorbachev gave a speech on October 1987 in Murmansk and longed for further cooperation in the Arctic region, a situation arose, which enabled the opening of cooperation negotiations. Eventually, Finland was the first to seize the moment, and this led to Finland’s initiative. The initiative aimed to arrange a Conference on the Protection of the Environment in Finland. This master’s thesis examines Finland’s Arctic diplomacy from September 1986 to October 1989, from The Reykjavík Summit to when the first meeting of Arctic issues with eight Arctic states was kept. More precisely, this thesis research how Finland was performing Arctic diplomacy during the period and if there were a change to Finland’s line after the Gorbachev’s speech. Hence, the thesis examines what type of reactions and consequences Gorbachev’s Murmansk speech affected in Finland’s foreign policy. Moreover, this thesis is interested in who was conducting nascent cooperation in the Arctic Region. The primary data used in this thesis are Finland’s Foreign Minister’s archives documents. The study shows that Finland’s Arctic diplomacy was at first in 1986, observative and reactional. However, after Gorbachev’s speech in Murmansk, Finland took the lead and worked actively to start cooperation. In this role, Finland needed to act as a balancer between the Arctic countries’ boundary conditions. Especially the US was hesitating and by this stretched Finland’s negotiator skills. Eventually, Finland achieved in arranging a consultative meeting in Finland in September 1989. This meeting became to be the first of two preparative meetings before the actual ministerial conference. Notably, Finland gained the leading force and was mainly conducting cooperation during the years examined. Nevertheless, the Gorbachev’s speech had a high impact on the momentum, but, significantly, Finland was the one who succeeded seize the moment.

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