Readiness Through International Cooperation: Finnish Defence Industrial Strategy in Changing Operational Environment from the Mid-1990s to the Early 2020s

Abstract

ABSTRACT After the Cold War, European defence industrial capacity decreased; however, in the 2020s, there is again a need for products of the defence industry. Although Finland is a small country, it has significant production capacity for defence materials. In this paper, we analyse how Finland preserved it in changing operational environment. We utilize points of departure of source-based historical research to give any reader an idea over the history of the theme. To conduct this, we have used publicly available documents and other texts, which are findable from Finnish repositories, and analyse what was Finnish policy and why it was formulated in relation to wider security political contexts. Additionally, we will analyse the available statistical data related to exports of the Finnish defence industry as they are a key part of Finnish policy. Using statistical and econometrical tools enables us to reveal important tren5ds that could otherwise be left unnoticed. Our statistical sources include, for instance, Finnish Government publications, arms industry databases of AFDA and SIPRI, SaferGlobe data, and LSEG Data & Analytics platform. Our data sources contain the most reliable and informative data available publicly.