La Finlande et la Suède, des pays non-alliés ? Cultures et politiques de sécurité à l’épreuve des tensions régionales dans l’espace baltique

Sophie Enos-Attali

doi:10.5077/journals/connexe.2020.e343

Authors

Sophie Enos-Attali Institut catholique de Paris

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5077/journals/connexe.2020.e343

Keywords:

Finland, Sweden, neutrality, non-alliance, security culture

Abstract

As “small countries” of Northern Europe, Finland and Sweden each chose neutrality to ensure their security in a context where they felt weakened by their proximity to Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and at the end of the Cold War, they pursued an original policy, combining full participation in the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and non-participation in military alliances. However, the Ukrainian crisis disrupted the balance in Northern Europe, leading Finland and Sweden to distance themselves from neutrality in armed conflicts, although this objective had been at the heart of their security policy since the 1950s. Beyond what appears to be a break with their security tradition, both countries remain in reality faithful to their security culture: as in the past, their security choices are determined by their self-image, and this image has remained unchanged.

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