Finland in the United Nations: Consistent and Credible Constructivism
Unto Vesa
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Finland's record in the UN is one of continuity and consistency. Many features that characterized its approach more than fifty years ago are still visible in its profile today. This is self-evident to some extent, of course, because Finland has been and will continue to be a small state. The emphasis on international law and the UN Charter naturally follow on from this.
It is obvious that the space for successful small state activism is more favourable in a relaxed international situation than at times of tension. In this sense the opportunities for Finland to act constructively in the United Nations have also improved since the Cold War and the country's accession to the European Union.
Credibility is one of Finland's strongest assets in the United Nations and in the international community as a whole. Finland has no hidden agenda or special interests in the United Nations, but endeavours to serve the interests of the whole international community – now and in the future with concrete, feasible and pragmatic contributions. Finland did not win a seat in the Security Council for 2013-2014, but it will continue to work in the same way and for the same goals in the United Nations as it has done in the past and as it would have done in the Security Council.
The publication is available for download at http://www.fiia.fi/en/publication/290/finland_in_the_united_nations/Press release
Eilen – Archive and Chronology of Finnish Foreign Policy will be launched on 1 March 2012. The online archive which will be maintained by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs will be available at www.eilen.fi.
Until the beginning of this millennium, the Finnish Journal of Foreign Affairs (Ulkopolitiikka-lehti) published a chronology of Finnish foreign policy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland collected foreign policy speeches and documents for an annual publication.
The FIIA has decided to resurrect these in a form of an online archive which will, in its initial stage, consist of a chronology of Finnish foreign policy and speeches of key foreign policy actors.
Eilen Archive is part of the FIIA's Finnish Foreign Policy project which seeks to support research on the topic. In addition to the archive, the project entails research seminars on Finnish foreign policy and a publication series called Finnish Foreign Policy Papers.