The evolution of the security policies of Sweden and Finland within the European Union: A comparative analysis

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2006

Öğrenci: AHU ÖZSOLAK

Danışman: HÜSEYİN BAĞCI

Özet:

This thesis aims to analyze the evolution of the security policies of Finland and Sweden within the European Union (EU) with a comparative perspective. The main argument of this thesis is that increasing European integration in the field of security and defense may lead to adaptations and modifications in the security policy formulations of two militarily non-allied EU member states, Finland and Sweden. However, the nature and extent of these adaptations will depend on each state’s own security policy perspective and own perception of the ongoing European security integration. This thesis seeks answers to questions such as “How does the policy of non-participation in military alliances affect these countries’ standpoints and their participation in general in the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and in the Common European Security and Defence Policy (CESDP)?,” “How do Finland and Sweden interpret and apply this policy perspective within the CFSP, and in the CESDP?” and “What does membership of the EU imply for the policies of the militarily non-allied countries?.” This thesis consists of nine chapters. The second chapter gives the conceptual framework of this thesis. The third chapter focuses on the evolution of their neutrality policies until the Second World War while the fourth one presents the evolution of their security policies from the Second World War until the end of the Cold War. The fifth chapter covers the transition period from their neutrality policy to their EU membership, while the sixth chapter focuses on the evolution of their security policies especially within the CESDP. The seventh chapter draws attention to their new security policy agenda and the eighth chapter presents the comparative analysis of their security policies in the EU. The ninth, and concluding chapter, offers an overall comparative perspective about the respective security policy profiles of the two countries within the EU. This thesis has reached the conclusion that owing to their different histories, geopolitical positions and security policy concerns during the Cold War, their ways of adapting to the changes within the EU were inclined to be different too. Even though their entry to the EU in 1995 may be accepted as the starting-point for the potential future convergence of their security policies, the similarities in their security policy considerations do not outweigh the differences for the time being.