Tekijät

• Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI)

Asiasanat

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

Sisällön kuvaus

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 examined 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. 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.

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. The respondents were also asked about Russia's recent actions and their possible impacts on Finland's security. Views were charted on Finnish military cooperation in the EU, with NATO, other Nordic countries, and the United States. The respondents were asked to evaluate what effect several countries and organizations, such as Russia, China, US, UN, and EU had on Finland's security.

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.

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, racism, and current conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, and Turkey. Finally, the respondents were asked about their trust in the European Union.

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, level of education, type of accommodation, region of residence, number of inhabitants in the municipality of residence, Internet use, political party choice in the previous parliamentary elections, and political party choice if the parliamentary elections were held at the time of answering.