But being known as a country facing geopolitical threats also has its drawbacks — particularly when it comes to the economy. What company would want to do business where there’s a risk of attack?
Of course, in today’s world, it’s not just Finland facing such risks. There are many other countries that must also try to square that circle, and how Finland chooses to respond and reassure the business community will likely be a leading example.
Those googling “Finland” these days are likely to receive a lot of hits about Russian threats, the Finnish government’s response to Russia’s threats, stories about Finland’s comprehensive national security — the list goes on in a similar fashion. Even ChatGPT says: “While Finland is geographically and politically stable, its strategic security concerns remain in flux due to the changing geopolitical landscape, particularly with Russia’s more aggressive stance and broader European security dynamics.” (ChatGPT has definitely been trained on think tank reports.)
Finland does indeed have admirable comprehensive defense. It’s even more impressive when one considers that it was perfected during the Cold War, when the Soviets banned the country from operating auxiliary military organizations — the kind of volunteer-staffed organizations that support the armed forces and formed a formidable pillar of Sweden’s Cold War era “total defense.” And while Finland’s comprehensive approach may not feature auxiliary defense organizations, it does include the armed forces, four government ministries, various government agencies, government-owned companies and all manner of boards and consultative bodies.
But it’s the preparedness part of this comprehensive approach that most impresses other countries and journalists because it involves every part of society and, unlike the military, it doesn’t rely on strict command and control. Governments have to engage the private sector and civil society; they need to educate, cajole, meet and plan.
“The biggest challenge is always command and control,” said Pekka Toveri, a retired major general in the Finnish Defence Forces who is now a member of the European Parliament. “The Finnish model is that you have ministries that take care of issues in their respective areas, but the problem is that threats rarely affect just one area.”