The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy

18. The will to defend: a Nordic divide oversecurity and defence policyTarja CronbergI. IntroductionThe five Nordic countries have made different choices as to where to look fortheir security. Denmark, Iceland and Norway are members of the North AtlanticTreaty Organization. Finland and Sweden participate in the European Securityand Defence Policy, while Denmark has an opt-out from this area of EuropeanUnion activity. Differences in Nordic security policy are, however, not onlyinstitutional. There is a deeper divide related to national identity and the ‘will todefend’.This chapter focuses on the difference between Finland on the one hand andthe three Scandinavian countries—Denmark, Norway and Sweden—on theother. Three dimensions are considered in this context: the perceptions ofthreat, the role of conscription in the armed forces and the way in which ‘helpfrom others’ forms part of the national security policy. The gap between Finlandand the three other countries is seen as a result not only of geography andhistory but also of modern identity construction.Section II of the chapter considers the definition and measurement of the‘will to defend’ in the Nordic countries. The role of conscription is assessed insection III while the different threat perceptions and policies on territorialdefence are discussed in section IV. The relationship between the Finnish ‘willto defend’ and the ESDP in the future is explored in section V, and conclusionsare presented in section VI.II. The will to defend: what it is and how it is measuredAccording to the Swedish National Board for Psychological Defence, the willto defend is: (a) a characteristic of the individual; and (b) represents a mentalstate of support for the total defence of the country. 1 It is an individual’s state ofmind during peacetime, as opposed to the will to fight, which: (a) is a phenom-1 Swedish National Board for Psychological Defence, Försvarsvilja 2000 [The will to defend 2000](Styrelsen för Psykologiskt Försvar: Stockholm, 1996); and Alanen, P. ‘Puolustustahto: ja miten semitataan’ [The will to defend: and how it is measured], Sotilasaikakauslehti, vol. 72, no. 744 (1997),pp. 52–57. A distinction may be made between the will to defend and the necessary spiritual strength, ‘thespirit to defend’. For detailed definitions see Huhtinen, A.-M. and Sinkko, R., Maanpuolustustahto tutkimuskohteena:kylmasta sodasta informaatiosotaan [The will to defend as a subject of research: from coldwar to information warfare] (Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu: Helsinki, 2004).