A Reluctant Partner

Finland, NATO, and Crisis Management, 1994–1997

Abstract

This article examines the early stages of Finland’s NATO policy between 1994 and 1997. It is based on documents from the archives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the personal archives of Presidents Mauno Koivisto and Martti Ahtisaari, and the archives of the Office of the President. The article shows that Finland’s engagement with NATO was far from straightforward. It sparked tensions in domestic political debate, which political leaders and civil servants had to take into account. In the initial phase, Finland maintained a low profile in its NATO cooperation, but the Bosnian War became a turning point. The NATO-led crisis management operation in Bosnia was seen as a litmus test for a new cooperative security order.