The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy

21. Åland in European security policyTeija TiilikainenI. IntroductionThe Åland islands form in many ways an interesting case in European securitypolicy and in the gradually evolving European security system. Åland is anautonomous region of Finland with a largely Swedish-speaking population. Itslegislative autonomy and a strong protection for its population’s Swedish languageand culture are enshrined in the Finnish constitution.Owing to its location, Åland has for centuries been of great strategic interestfor states in its neighbourhood. When Finland—and Åland with it—were transferredfrom Sweden to the Russian Empire in 1809, Sweden started to push forthe demilitarization of Åland. After the 1854–56 Crimean War, during whichmajor operations took place on Åland, an appendix to the 1856 Treaty of Parisforbade Russia from establishing fortifications or maintaining or building up amilitary presence and naval forces on the islands. 1 After Finland gainedindependence from Russia in 1917, Åland became for a number of years asource of controversy between Finland and Sweden as a result of the Ålanders’demand for Åland’s reunification with Sweden.In the summer of 1921 the League of Nations resolved the Åland question.Åland should remain a part of Finland but would be granted autonomy,which—along with the historically rooted principles of neutrality and demilitarization—wouldbe supported by international guarantees. In October 1921 theConvention relating to the Non-fortification and Neutralization of the ÅlandIslands was signed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,Latvia, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 2 Russia was not accepted as aparty to the convention because the Western powers did not regard BolshevikRussia as a sovereign state after the revolution of 1917.The convention placed two types of obligations on the signatories. Under thedemilitarization provisions of the Åland Convention, Finland confirmed itscommitments in the 1856 treaty. 3 The 1921 convention prohibits the building or1 The parties to this treaty were France, the United Kingdom and Russia. Ahlström, C., Demilitariseradeoch neutraliserade områden i Europa [Demilitarized and neutral areas in Europe] (Ålands fredsinstitut:Mariehamn, 1995), p. 24.2 The Convention relating to the Non-fortification and Neutralization of the Åland Islands was signedon 20 Oct. 1921 and came into effect on 6 Apr. 1922. The original French text of the convention is availableat URL .3 The 1856 treaty was not superseded. Rosas, A., ‘The Åland islands as a demilitarised and neutralisedzone’, eds L. Hannikainen and F. Horn, Autonomy and Demilitarisation in International Law: The ÅlandIslands in a Changing Europe (Kluwer: The Hague, 1997), p. 125.