End of an era: Future of Nordic security from a Finnish perspective

Policy Brief
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Themes
Defence  NATO  Security policy  The Nordic countries
Written by

Minna Ålander

Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs

Summary:

With the full-scale attack on Ukraine, Russia crossed a red line for Finland, prompting the country to abandon its long-term military non-alignment policy and seek NATO membership. Finland is thus moving away from the decades-long emphasis on good relations with its eastern neighbour and instead towards the clearest possible deterrence posture. The now coherent Alliance membership of all five Nordic countries will unlock new ambition levels in the regional framework of NORDEFCO that were hitherto blocked by Finland and Sweden remaining outside of the NATO command structure.