Tuomas Malinen, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Helsinki and CEO of GNS Economics, discusses Finland’s dramatic shift from neutrality to NATO membership. One of President Alexander Stubb’s first acts was signing a defense treaty with Ukraine, marking Finland’s first military treaty with a nation at war with Russia since 1944. This represents a stark departure from Finland’s historical policy of neutrality (“Finlandization”).
Finland is showing signs of military preparation, with airfields being expanded, military reserves planned to increase from 325,000 to 1 million by 2032, and aggressive rhetoric toward Russia unprecedented in Finland’s 100 years of independence. Finland formally joined NATO on April 9, 2023 – symbolically the same calendar date as NATO’s founding in 1949.
Links:
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Timestamps:
00:00:00 Preview & Intro
00:02:01 What is Finland’s role in the Ukraine war?
00:05:31 Why was Finland’s President invited to Washington?
00:16:05 Strategy behind militarizing Finland: being set up as a threat to Russia?
00:22:02 Is the ‘Break Up Russia’ faction still powerful?
00:33:38 Does Trump have enough power to bypass the deep state?
00:40:36 What is the general mood in Finland right now?
00:46:43 Are Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries effective?
Credit to : Neutrality Studies