WHY DID FINLAND DECIDE TO JOIN NATO

Finland has historically been a pacifist and neutral state. So what happened that made Finland want to join NATO?

Finland's pacifist stance is primarily a result of two wars. First, there was the Winter War. The Winter War was fought between 1939 and 1940 against the Soviets. In this war, Finland suffered heavy territorial losses against the Soviets. The second war was the Continuation War. This war, fought between 1941 and 1944, was between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The war resulted in political dependence on the Soviet Union, heavy war reparations, and further significant territorial losses. Due to the intensity of the war in Finland, the small population, and the desire to focus on economic development, the understanding that "neutrality is a prerequisite for prosperity and stability" has become widespread in Finland society. This allowed the neutral policy to gain social legitimacy; in other words, its negative war experiences in the past led to a balanced and cautious foreign policy. Therefore, for Finland, one can speak of a neutrality that is "necessary rather than desired".

 So why did Finland decide to join NATO? The most fundamental reason is the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine is not a NATO member, but it has been invaded by a major power, which has led to concerns in Finland that they too are at similar risk. Moreover, Finland shares a land border with Russia that is over 1300 kilometers long. Therefore, the threat has begun to take a concrete form. Therefore, Finland wants to join the Collective Security Treaty under Article 5 of NATO. At the same time, public support for NATO increased from 20% to 70-80%. So the decision was not just the result of the presidents' wishes, but also the demands of the people. Based on all this, Finland decided to join NATO.

REFERENCES:

-Torlak, P. (2022). “İsveç ve Finlandiya Krizinin” Gölgesinde NATO Zirvesine Doğru. EURO Politika(14), 26-30.?