The majority of Finns would be ready to cancel the demilitarization of Åland, says a recent study by the University of Helsinki.
A recent survey reveals that citizens think Finland can get by without permanent NATO forces or a base. Storing or even transporting nuclear weapons through Finland will not be approved by the Finns.
Finns’ support for NATO membership is solid, and a large majority would be ready to defend a NATO country under attack.
Finns’ attitudes and NATO knowledge have been analyzed in the report of the NATOpoll research project. The study is led by the University of Helsinki, and Åbo Akademi and the University of Turku are also involved. 2,877 Finns answered the researchers’ questions in the Taloustukkumis internet panel.
Joint defense gets solid support, but Finns don’t want nuclear weapons
According to the study, Finns do not want nuclear weapons to be transported through this route, not to mention that weapons would be stored here.
14 percent would allow storage and 77 percent of respondents would forbid it. 27 percent would give permission to transport and 61 percent would forbid it.
– There is a limit to NATO support somewhere. On the other hand, Finland is under the protection of NATO’s nuclear weapons umbrella, but joint responsibility does not extend to wanting them to be transported here. “Not in my backyard” thinking can also be observed here, but above all it reflects Finland’s long history in nuclear disarmament, says the leader of the study, docent of general political science at the University of Helsinki Hanna Wass.
Not in my backyard thinking means that people basically support something, as long as it doesn’t happen in their own neighborhood.
The attitude towards nuclear weapons has long been negative in Finland, and the law also prohibits them. Director of the research college of the University of Helsinki Tuomas Forsbergin think it would be a surprise if the attitude had changed, even though NATO’s deterrence is ultimately based on nuclear weapons.
– Nuclear weapons are a threat to the future of the entire Earth, and using them in war is not strategically meaningful.
The attitude towards permanent NATO forces or the base in Finland divides the respondents. 46 percent of respondents would like troops, 43 percent would not.
Forsberg reminds that Finns have trusted Finland’s own defense capability, and still do.
– You can think that NATO was only joined when more security and deterrence was wanted. Or it was just an indication to Russia that we are not being dictated to – whether we join or not.
58 percent of respondents would be ready to dismantle the demilitarization of Åland. 26 percent of respondents are against this.
Researcher Hanna Wass: For some Finns, NATO looks like a project of the right and the elite
Finland joined NATO in April, after applying to become a member of the defense alliance in the spring of last year.
According to a recent survey, membership is supported by the vast majority of Finns, 81 percent. 11 percent would now vote against membership.
Support is slightly above the average for NATO countries. The most recent measurement data is from spring 2022, when 72 percent of the citizens of NATO member countries supported the defense alliance. It was opposed by 13 percent.
In Finland, support is high throughout the population, but in the lower social groups, NATO does not receive the same support as in the upper ones. Both education and income level seem to determine the attitude towards NATO membership.
67 percent of low-income earners support NATO, 91 percent of high-income earners, i.e. those earning more than 90,000. 76 percent of elementary school students support NATO, 84 percent of those who have attended university.
Party position and support for NATO are also linked: both those most on the left and those most on the right support NATO less than the others. Among the supporters of the parties, supporters of the Left Alliance and Basic Finns support NATO less than others.
– The less you earn and the less educated you are, the more critical you are towards NATO. In a broader sense, this can be explained by attachment to society, whether NATO looks like a project of the right or the elite, says Hanna Wass, the leader of the study.