Study title

Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence 2015

Dataset ID Number

FSD3086

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3086
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3086

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI)

Abstract

The annual survey charted Finnish public opinion on foreign policy, defence policy, security, military alliances, military service, and international armed conflicts at the time of the survey. Some questions charted asylum policy and views on factors affecting safety and security.

Opinions were charted on the success of foreign policy in the previous few years, funds allocated to the Defence Forces, whether Finland should resort to armed defence in case of any sort of attack, and how the global security situation would develop in the next five years. The respondents' readiness to participate in defending Finland in case of attack were queried. Views were probed on the current, conscription-based defence system and whether women should also participate in conscription. The respondents were asked whether Finland should form military alliances and whether Finland should apply for NATO membership. Concern caused by certain phenomena and issues was charted, such as the economic situation in Europe, global warming, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, cybercrime, increase in the number of asylum-seekers, situation in Ukraine, and religious extremist groups.

Some questions pertained to issues affecting the safety and security of Finland. These included, among others, Finland's EU membership, potential NATO membership, participation in the EU defence and in international crisis management, and military non-alignment. Satisfaction with defence policy in the previous few years was investigated. Views were charted on Finnish military cooperation in the EU, with NATO and with other Nordic countries.

Opinions were probed on the possibility of a military threat against Finland in the following 10 years as well as Finland's chances to defend itself against an enemy in conventional warfare. The respondents were asked what their idea of the military tasks of the Finnish Defence Forces were (e.g. defending the territorial integrity of Finland, participating in the defence of the EU). Views were studied on Finland's preparedness for the prevention of various security threats, such as armed threat, infectious diseases and epidemics, environmental hazards, uncontrolled immigration, political pressure from other states, economic crisis, terrorism, and attacks against information systems and networks. The respondents were asked how Russia's actions affected/would affect Finland's security. Finally, opinions were charted on the increasing numbers of asylum-seekers in Finland and other European countries, the need for joint immigration and asylum policy in the EU, and how well Finland and the EU had prepared for the increasing number of asylum-seekers.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, economic activity and occupational status, marital status, occupation of the household head, household composition, ages of children living at home, gross annual income of the household, newspaper reading habits, level of education, consumer durables in the household, type of accommodation, region of residence, number of inhabitants in the municipality of residence, Internet use, and political party choice in the previous parliamentary elections.

Keywords

European integration; armed forces; conflict; conflict resolution; conscription; defence; defence and state security policy; foreign policy; foreign relations; international alliances; international conflict resolution; military expenditure; military operations; national security; public expenditure; refugees

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Conflict, security and peace (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Taloustutkimus

Time Period Covered

2015

Collection Dates

2015-11-05 – 2015-11-23

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 15-79 living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Quota

Quotas based on age, gender, region and municipality type distributions. For this study, interviews were conducted in 104 municipalities, 68 of which were urban municipalities.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

139 variables and 1005 cases.

Data Version

3.0

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable (paino), matching the sample to the distributions of the 15-79 year-old population (in thousands).

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI): Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence 2015 [dataset]. Version 3.0 (2018-08-22). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3086

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Finländarnas åsikter om Finlands utrikes-, säkerhets- och försvarspolitik 2015 (2016) [online]. Helsingfors: Planeringskommissionen för försvarsinformation PFI . http://www.defmin.fi/files/3334/MTS_2015_rapport_pa_svenska.pdf [hämtad 25.2.2016].

Suomalaisten mielipiteitä ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiikasta, maanpuolustuksesta ja turvallisuudesta 2015 (2016). Helsinki: Maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunta MTS. Tiedotteita ja katsauksia: Tammikuu 2016; 1/2016. http://www.defmin.fi/files/3338/MTS_mielipidetutkimus_15_raportti_suomeksi.pdf [viitattu 25.2.2016].

Finns' Opinions on Foreign and Security Policy, Defence and Security Issues 2015 (2016) [online]. Helsinki: Advisory Board of Defence Information, ABDI. http://www.defmin.fi/files/3335/MTS_2015_report_in_english.pdf [cited 25 Feb. 2016].

Gustafsberg, Harri & Nyman, Markku (2018). Yksilöresilienssi ja yhteiskunnan turvallisuus. Tampere: Mentoritiimi.

Vartiainen, Mikko (2021) Maanpuolustustahtoisuuden yhteys turvallisuuden ja turvattomuuden tunteisiin maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunnan mielipidekyselyissä. Johtamisen ja sotilaspedagogiikan laitos. Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu.

Mattiniemi, Inka (2022) Turvattomana Venäjän kainalossa? Suomalaisten Venäjä-asenteet ja inhimillinen turvallisuus. Pro gradu -tutkielma. Tampereen yliopisto.