Survival Strategies of Small States: Comparative Analysis of Ukraine - Finland

Authors : Mehmet Alkanalka, Veysel Babahanoğlu

Pages : 137-151

View : 97 | Download : 75

Publication Date : 2024-01-08

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The purpose of this article is to analyze the strategies of small states against a neighboring nuclear big power and to contribute to the literature by explaining the reasons for the difference in small-state strategies. The case of Finland, a small country that did not join NATO during the Cold War, is a sui generis case. "Finlandization” refers to the foreign policy of Finland as a small state to survive against the communist Soviet Union, which was a powerful geopolitical neighbor during the Cold War. NATO remains a key component of the security architecture even after the Cold War, and the majority of its members can be classified as small states. Finland, which was not a NATO member during the Cold War, abandoned Finlandization after the Russia-Ukraine War. Although the policy of neutrality in geopolitics is a valid strategy in peace and even in the Cold War, different parameters come to the fore in war. In this article, these issues are examined with the comparative case study method. In conclusion, Finland succeeded in joining NATO by abandoning the Finlandization model, but Ukraine could not enter NATO while losing land and heavy casualties.
Keywords : Küçük devlet, Rusya Ukrayna Savaşı, NATO