Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom as Finland's Allies

This chapter addresses the prospects of Finland’s defence relations with Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom. Historically, Finland’s defence cooperation has been much closer with the Nordic countries, especially Sweden, than with the United Kingdom. Cooperation with Sweden has been based on shared history and culture, even though differing approaches to military security during the Cold War posed limits to defence cooperation. With the United Kingdom, defence cooperation has been spurred on in the last 10–15 years by Russia’s aggressive foreign policy. Within the context of Finland and Sweden’s NATO memberships, the significance of Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom as Finland’s partners will potentially increase, as the trio shares the same threat perception and interest in defending the northeastern flank of NATO. Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom could potentially contribute to the defence of Finland, not just for the sake of their commitment to Article V, but primarily for enhancing their own security.