FIIA has launched a research project following Finland’s NATO membership
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) has launched a research project following Finland’s NATO membership process and its developing NATO policy. The project Finland’s evolving role in Euro-Atlantic security will also examine the development of the security situation in Europe and the security environment in Northern Europe. The collapsing European security order will set the framework for Finland’s foreign and security policy for the coming years. The project is led by Leading Researcher Matti Pesu. The project also includes Research Fellow Tuomas Iso-Markku, Leading Researcher Harri Mikkola, Postdoctoral Fellow Ville Sinkkonen and Head of Strategic Partnerships Kukka-Maria Kovsky. 
Here are some latest FIIA publications on the changed security environment in Europe:
Suomi ja Venäjän hyökkäys Ukrainaan: Turvallisuusympäristön muutoksen vaikutukset Suomen ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiikalle by Matti Pesu, Harri Mikkola and Tuomas Iso-Markku
Zelenskyy’s change of approach towards Russia: From soft touch to firm hand by Arkady Moshes and Ryhor Nizhnikau
European politics in times of crisis: Developments in Germany, France and Italy, and consequences for the EU by Marco Siddi, Niklas Helwig and Tuomas Iso-Markku
Upcoming events
From words to action? European Strategic Autonomy after the return of war, 22 June 2022
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and Finnish Institute of International are organising an event “From words to action? European Strategic Autonomy after the return of war”. This event marks the publication of the 2022 special issue of European Foreign Affairs Review “Strategic Autonomy and the EU as a Global Actor” and is organised on Monday 22 June at 13 in Brussels. Speakers: Niklas Helwig, Leading Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Tania Lațici, Policy Officer, European External Action Service (tbc), Katariina Mustasilta, Leading Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs Tobias Gehrke, Research Fellow, Egmont Institute. Host of the event is Steven Blockmans, Director of Research.
More information and registrations: https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-events/from-words-to-action-european-strategic-autonomy-after-the-return-of-war/
FIIA Researchers featured in Special Issue of European Foreign Affairs Review
Helsinki Security Forum 2022: Northern European Security Redone
FIIA is launching a new yearly, international security conference. The first Helsinki Security Forum (HSF) will be held on 30.9.–2.10.2022 in Helsinki. The HSF will be a high-level, invitation-based event, bringing together approximately 100 decision-makers, experts, and influencers relevant to international security and to the changing theme of each year. The theme of HSF 2022 will be Northern European Security Redone. HSF contributes to a global network of security conferences and spotlights issues of international security which are especially pertinent to Finland.
The HSF is organized by FIIA, with support from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Ministry of Defence of Finland, and the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland. The President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, acts as the patron of the conference.
The event will include both roundtable discussions among participants as well as panels livestreamed to a broader online audience. Online registration for all is available here.
You can follow the updates and ongoing conversation on HSF on social media at Twitter #HelSecFor, on FIIA’s Twitter, and on the official Helsinki Security Forum website.
Past events
9TH ANNUAL HELSINKI SUMMER SESSION
A new age of Nordic and Baltic Sea security? The 9th Annual Helsinki Summer Sessions was held 6-7 June and brought together experts from the region, wider Europe and the United States to explore the future parameters of regional security from inside out and outside-in perspectives. The event consisted of four panels covering the US-Finland bilateral relationship, the “Northern” and “Southern” Baltic Sea regions, and the transatlantic relationship. CUSPP had the honor of welcoming Professor Mary Sarotte from Johns Hopkins University, Director Natalie Tocci from Istituto Affari Internazionali, Professor Baldur Thorhallsson from University of Iceland, Professor Dovile Jakniunaite from Vilnius University as well as several other experts from the region.
Helsingin Sanomat interviewed Professor Sarotte when she visited FIIA (article in Finnish): Kylmän sodan paluu. Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn wrote a review of Professor Sarotte’s new book also in Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish).
See recording of FIIA Forum 2022
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) and the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) jointly organized the FIIA Forum 2022 seminar Changes and challenges in the Nordic security climate on Wednesday 27 April 2022. The recording of the event (in English) is available on FIIA’s YouTube channel.
Recent publications
All FIIA publications are available on the FIIA website. Here you can find some of the latest publications.
Southeast Asian democracy: Democratic regression or autocratic hardening? by Bart Gaens and Olli Ruohomäki
Autonomy through digital resilience: The importance of upholding the national tech stack by Markus Holmgren
Russia’s technological policy and knowhow in a competitive global context by Sinikukka Saari, Santtu Lehtinen, Arho Suominen, Andrey Indukaev and Juuso Eskonmaa
Western financial warfare and Russia’s de-dollarization strategy: How sanctions on Russia might reshape the global financial system by Maria Shagina
Understanding non-state armed groups: Forces for good, evil or something in-between? by Katariina Mustasilta, Olli Ruohomäki and Mathilda Salo
New book on Understanding the Politics of Pandemic Emergencies in the time of COVID-19 by Mika Aaltola
In his new book Director of FIIA Mika Aaltola reviews the political significance of COVID-19 in the context of earlier pandemic encounters and scares to understand the ways in which it challenges the existing individual health, domestic order, international health governance actors, and, more fundamentally, the circulation-based modus operandi of the present world order.
The book is published by Routledge, more information here.
The latest issues of the Finnish Journal of Foreign Affairs (in Finnish)
Ulkopolitiikka 2/2022
The new issue of the Finnish Journal of International Affairs (1/2022) examines the consequences of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. The EU has demonstrated unity and speed in its response to the war, Nato and the transatlantic alliance have been reinvigorated and developed industrial democracies have closed ranks by sanctioning Russia. What are the elements that make up the West’s unity and how solid is the underlying foundation? In the profile interview, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin explains her thoughts on foreign policy: the big picture is a clash of values, in which Finland must be ready to defend its interests. Elsewhere, historian Riku Keski-Rauska expounds on the sea change in Finnish foreign policy: how a tradition of cautious coexistence with Russia left us blind to the regime’s violent expansionism.
You can access the journal at www.ulkopolitiikka.fi (in Finnish).
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