Finland's Treaties on Security Policy

Abstract

Apunen, O. Finland's Treaties on Security Policy. Cooperation and Conflict, XV, 1980, 249-261.

In this analysis of Finland's treaties from the 1920s to the 1970s concerning security issues, the author proceeds from a dichotomy: treaty elements regulating the political activity of the state and, on the other hand, actual international obligations pertaining to arms control. Treaty instruments of a predominantly political character fall under three categories: non-use of force, obligation to use force under specific circumstances, and obligation to pursue peace-strengthening foreign policy. In this connection the author deals with such questions as the inviolability of frontiers, neutrality, non-alignment and interna tional security guarantees in Finland's bilateral and multilateral treaties. Agreements on disarmament and arms control fall under the concepts of zoning, and quantitative and qualitative limitation of arms. The author concludes that the Finnish agreements reveal 'vogues'. During the interwar period (1920-1939) the aim of Finnish arms control policy was to seek a general European system of mutual regulations through treaties prohibiting the use and threat of force and providing methods for peaceful settlement of disputes. After World War II Finland's bilateral treaty obligations became more specific but, at the same time and especially during the détente period since the 1960s, Finland has been engaged in a process of negotiation based on concepts of positive peace and active interaction.