The project The U.S. at a crossroads: The future of foreign and domestic policy in an era of confrontation (US-SARANA) examines the intertwining of US domestic and foreign policy and its impact on the country’s global engagement. The project is funded by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.
The United States stands at a historic crossroads. The country’s post-Second World War foreign and security policy traditions have been put into question amid a global power shift and reordering. Domestic political divisions affect foreign and security policy more profoundly than has been the case for nearly a century, while US democratic institutions face multiple challenges. At the same time, understanding what drives the United States and anticipating its foreign-policy action are more important than ever for Finland, given the country’s recent NATO accession. The project responds to the needs of Finnish society by analyzing key developments in US domestic politics and foreign and security policy in the midst of a potentially major reorientation.
The key objective of the US-SARANA project is to provide reliable research-based expertise and analysis on the foreign and security policy and domestic politics of the United States to Finnish and allied decision-makers, business representatives, the media, and citizens.
The implementation of the US-SARANA project is divided into two interlinked thematic work packages: The first work package (WP1) focuses on domestic-political dynamics, while the second (WP2) analyses foreign and security policy, including their impact on Finland – especially with respect to the developing bilateral relationship with the United States.
The project will produce a broad portfolio of research, aimed at the general public, policymakers, and the academic community. It will also disseminate research-based information on current developments in US politics to Finnish audiences and support the networking of Finnish American politics scholars.
So far, the project’s funding has supported the completion of the book Tuntematon tulevaisuus, the edited volume Competing Visions for International Order, and a chapter in a peer-reviewed scientific compilation on the 2024 US presidential election. The US-SARANA project has also enabled the continuation of FIIA’s Transatlantic Currents webinar series, a guest lecture by Professor Corey Brettschneider (Brown University) in Helsinki, and the US Research Day – a networking event that brought together Finnish experts working on the United States. In addition, the project has supported travel of the participating researchers to high-level scientific conferences in North America and Europe, as well as to policy-relevant discussion forums focusing on transatlantic relations. Professor Sarah Stroup (Middlebury College) served as a Visiting Senior Researcher at FIIA in autumn 2025 with funding from the US-SARANA project. The project is part of FIIA’s Center on US Politics and Power (CUSPP).