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Finland THE ARMED FORCES IN NATIONAL LIFE
The Defense Forces held a position of esteem and honor
in
Finnish society. This was accounted for in part by their
reputation for valor, earned in preserving Finland's
independence
during the Winter War, and by the common military service
experience of male citizens. The long reserve obligation
of a
large part of the population also reinforced continuing
interest
in the effectiveness and the welfare of the military
establishment. The obligatory period of service was
perceived as
an important unifying factor for Finnish society.
Conscription
was treated as an opportunity to provide civic education
by
deepening understanding of the history and the security
policies
of the country and to improve standards of behavior and
good
citizenship. One of the arguments advanced for national
servicefor women was that the experience would help them,
as
citizens,
to comprehend national security issues better and to view
the
military in a positive light.
Opinion surveys revealed a high degree of public
confidence
in the Defense Forces and a willingness to provide the
necessary
resources for an effective defense. Polls generally found
that
over 75 percent of Finns agreed that the country should be
willing to go to war to defend itself. (Among conscripts,
95
percent supported a firm defense against aggression.) In
1988
one-half of those queried were in favor of the existing
level of
defense appropriations, while one-third believed they
should be
increased, and only slightly more than one-eighth thought
they
should be reduced. The need for a sufficient level of
military
readiness was accepted by all major parties represented in
the
Eduskunta; only communist factions had urged curtailing
defense
expenditures, arguing that any future war was bound to be
nuclear, making preparations for a conventional conflict
of
little avail.
The Defense Forces were often prominently involved in
public
events, helping to organize and to stage large sports
competitions, ceremonies, conferences, and exhibitions. In
most
communities, there were guilds connected with military
units,
often those linked to the area by long tradition, that
brought
together older and younger veterans. The Defense Council
was
active in furthering the public's knowledge of defense
issues,
and by the late 1980s about 20,000 Finns, prominent
locally or
nationally, had attended courses under its direction.
About 20
percent of those receiving instruction attended a course
lasting
nearly a month; the remainder attended a one-week course.
The Finnish military establishment had intervened in
politics
during the Civil War of 1917-18 and during the subsequent
clashes
between the right and the left wings in the 1920s. In the
period
preceding World War II, leaders of the armed forces had
sought to
convince the government and the public to initiate
military
preparedness for the impending conflict. Since the end of
the
war, however, the constraints of the 1947 peace treaty and
the
FCMA treaty, together with the authority asserted by
civilian
governments, have discouraged direct involvement by the
military
in politics. The career military were forbidden to join
political
parties or to run for political office while on active
duty. They
were, however, permitted to vote and to hold office at
local
levels, such as membership on municipal boards, which did
not
require party affiliation.
During the 1980s, the public profile of the senior
members of
the armed forces was generally low; the leadership
confined
itself to restrained comments when it felt this was needed
to
draw attention to the inadequacy of defense
appropriations. The
impact of the military on issues affecting national
security was,
nonetheless, significant. Its opinion was highly
respected, in
part as a legacy of the Winter War and in part as a result
of the
direct experience of the entire male segment of society
with
matters of national defense. Observers believed it
probable that
a large majority of the representatives in the Eduskunta
(parliament) held officer commissions in the reserves.
Views of
the senior commanders were accorded serious attention by
top
policymakers and legislators. Reserve officer associations
in
every part of the country formed a strong constituency
sympathetic to the interests of the military.
There appeared to be little sentiment among the public
that
the military enjoyed excessive influence in the Finnish
political
system. In a survey taken in 1984 concerning the power of
various
institutions, over 75 percent of those polled felt that
the armed
forces exercised the right amount of power; only 15
percent
thought that they held too much power. In this respect,
the
public's estimate of the military was more positive than
its
estimate of any of the other institutions of government
and
society, except the presidency itself.
Data as of December 1988
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