Finland, the Nordic Countries and European integration, POLH 1024

1
Finland, the Nordic Countries and European
integration, POLH 1024
2
Technicalities

• Teacher
• loucle_at_utu.fi
• Tuesday, 15-16
• Department of Contemporary History T19 on the
  Campus Map
• Exam OR essay
• 20th April Absolute and definite deadline for
  essays
• Essays
• 10-15 pages
• related to the course
• approved by me
• in English
• Attendance!
• Knowledge of ongoing events

3
Timetable

• March
• 2nd Entering the EEC Denmark in 1973
• 9th NB! NO CLASS!
• 16th 1989-1995, Sweden, Finland, Norway and the
• European Union
• 23rd The Nordic countries in the Communities
  Denmark, Sweden, Finland Norway and Iceland the
  outsiders
• 30rd Introducing the Baltic States (1918 1939
  1992 2004)
• April
• 20th Conclusion the nature of relations between
  Northern Europe and the process of European
  Integration
• 27th First exam
• May
• 4th Second exam

• Mondays, 14-16, Pub 2
• January
• 19th Introduction The North and Europe before
  1945 Europeanism, neutrality, the Oslo group
  and the League of Nations
• 26th NB! NO CLASS!
• February
• 2nd The Nordic countries during the war and
  after 1945
• 9th The Nordic Defense Union, Northern Europe,
• NATO, the USSR
• 16th The Nordic Customs union negotiations and
  the
• EFTA solution
• 23rd The NORDEK negotiations

4

• Relations between Nordic countries and the
  process of European integration
• European integration?
• Nordic countries?
• 5 countries Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden,
  Finland.
• Geographically situated in the same area
• a number of common living conditions
• common history, political co-operation and
  confrontation
• religious, social, political and intellectual
  features
• similar geopolitical problems
• economic, commercial, human, intellectual ties
• Common, concrete projects from the 19th century
• Nordic solidarity, Scandinavism,
  pan-scandinavism
• After stabilization of Nordic states, three
  circles Nordic/Scandinavian neighborhood
  Europe and the World

5
A divisive geography

• At the same time, divisions rooted in geography
  and history
• Geography shapes a complex pattern of external
  influences
• Great-Britain trade, strategic influence
• Russia/the USSR strategy, trade
• Germany the backdoor of Germany, its margin of
  manoeuver after World War I, its trade area
• After 1945, the United States

6
History Sweden

• The biggest, most central Nordic
• Great Power until 1700, the construction of
  Saint-Petersbourg
• Poltawa, 1709 Dread Poltowas day, When
  fortune left the royal Swede, Around a
  slaughtered army lay, No more to combat and to
  bleed, The power and fortune of the War Had
  passed to the triumphant Czar. 
• (George Gordon, Lord Byron)
• 1809 Finland is conquered by the Czar
• 1812 Bernadotte becomes king of Sweden
  neutrality begins
• 1905 Norwegian independence
• 20th century constitutionnal monarchy,
  building-up of a welfare-state
• 1914-1918, 1939-1945 difficult neutrality
• 1945 Neutrality continues between East and West
• Sweden as the linchpin of the North?

7
History Denmark

• Gate to the Baltic sea
• As old as Sweden, the other great of Nordic
  policies wars with Sweden, trade, etc
• As with Sweden, feels the effect of the rise of
  Russian power
• Complex geographical position puts it at odds
  with Germany and Great-Britain
• The Schleswig Wars (1848-51 1864)
• 1914-1918 stuck between Great-Britain and
  Germany
• 31 May 1 June 1916, battle of Jutland
• Denamrk appears after 1918 as a victim of
  Germany the southern Duchies are given back

8
History Finland

• Independence, Russia and neutrality
• A march of Sweden and Russia
• 1809 conquest by Russia
• The Russian rule benefits to a national awakening
  in Finland
• 1899-1905 the crisis years
• Finns abroad work to present Finland as a
  European country, and to distinguish it from a.
  Russia, b. the Baltic states
• December 1917 independence
• 1920-1939 Finland finds its place on the map of
  Europe
• Trade, culture, symbolic relations increasingly
  link Finland to the Nordic group
• Development of a social legislation
• 1939-1944 two wars against the USSR
• In 1945, Finland claims neutrality but is under
  the influence of a victorious Soviet Union
• Finlands margin of manoeuver, links with other
  Nordic countries and with European projects that
  Moscow is condemning neutrality in the shadow
  of power

9
Histroy Norway, Iceland

• Isolation and independence
• Norwegian romantic nationalism against Denmark
  and Sweden
• 1905 peaceful independence from Sweden
• 1914-1918 the Norwegian merchant fleet helps the
  Allies Norway gets Janmayen and the Arctic
  archipelago of Svalbard
• The faraway island
• Iceland as a special case
• December 1918 Union Act signed with Denmark
  makes Iceland an independent state under a real
  union with the Danish crown

10
Reluctant Europeans?

• What of these countries reaction to the
  post-WWII unprecedented movement of European
  integration?
• Toivo Miljans book The Reluctant Europeans
  (Hurst, 1977)
• Late to enter European integration
• EFTA in the 1960s, Denmark in 1973, Sweden and
  Finland in 1995
• How come? Developed countries, undoubtedly
  European
• Societies that feel European, but potentially can
  feel a threat from the Community method
• Social-democracy against threats to the Nordic
  model?
• National identities facing threats of
  supranationality?
• Surrendering prerogatives of the state in
  strongly state-centered societies?
• Protestantism against Southern Europe? Rights of
  women? Environment?
• Economic and commercial questions?
• Small, peripheral states in a process dominated
  by central, great powers? Emphasizing the Nordic
  or the European?
• The role of small states in the European
  communities?
• Regional co-operations or European (or general)
  integration? The tradition of Norden as a
  functioning alternative?
• How did the Nordic states react to a process that
  started outside their reach? The necessity of
  association?
• How did bigger states react?

11
Main questions of the course

• Domestic policies or a Nordic policy?
• The overwhelming importance of domestic, national
  factors
• Also, a measure of harmonization and common
  problems (trade with the EFTA and the EEC-zone,
  intellectual, symbolic relations with Europe)
• Technical, trade, or symbolic, political?
• Why did these countries decide to associate
  themselves with the various projects of European
  construction / integration?
• Economic and commercial reasons are overwhelming
  the Nordic countries need Western European
  markets
• Europeist, federalist convictions?
• Political, symbolic attachment? The idea of
  Europe?
• Do the Nordic countries share the paradigms of
  the Community method as implicitly accepted by
  the six founding states in 1951?

12
Main questions of the course

• Nordic cooperation or European integration? Both
  of them at the same time, as complements of
  national policies?
• Dilemma between emphasizing Nordic cooperation or
  pursuing European integration
• The example of Denmark a delicate equilibrium
• The example of Norway
• The fragility and potential of Nordic
  cooperation.
• Each country has its own interests, and its own
  agenda and timetable for integration in European
  schemes
• Economic and commercial problems is the Nordic
  alternative a viable alternative to European
  integration? Can it go together?

13
Main questions of the course

• EFTA, the EEA, specific free-trade agreements or
  the European communities?
• Which sort of European cooperation?
• European construction/European integration two
  words for two different things 1945-1949
  European construction Schuman declaration in
  May 1950 launches European integration, 1951
  treaty of Paris, 1957 treaties of Rome, 1986
  European Single Act, 1992 Treaty of maastricht
• Relations of the Nordic countries with these two
  processes (EFTA/communities), and after 1970 with
  the one that won European integration,
  supranational, with common institutions, etc
• What is the vision of European cooperation from
  this part of Europe? How does it differ from the
  vision French, German, Italian, British
  leadership have of European co-operation? What
  has been the policy of the Nordic countries
  inside the Communities, inside the EU?