Study title

Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3318

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3318
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3318

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI)

Abstract

The annual survey by the Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI) charted Finnish public opinion on foreign policy, defence policy, national security, military alliances, military service, and safety.

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 whether Finland and Finns would live in a more secure or less secure world 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. Views were also charted on Finnish military cooperation in the EU, with NATO, other Nordic countries, and the United States. Next, satisfaction with defence policy in the previous few years was investigated. The respondents were asked to evaluate what effect a variety of governmental bodies, such as Russia, China, the US, UN, and the EU, had on Finland's security, and what the respondents estimated the military situation in Finland's nearby areas to be like in the next ten years.

Concern caused by certain phenomena and issues was charted, such as global warming, security situation in the Baltic Sea, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, the world's refugee situation, cybercrime, false news targeted at Finland, political extremism, racism, the current situation in the Middle East, and recent developments in the European Union, Russia and the United States. Finally, the respondents were asked about their trust in the future of the European Union. They were also asked about their views on military equipment exports of Finnish companies.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, economic activity and occupational status, 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, and political party preference.

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

2018

Collection Dates

2018-09-21 – 2018-10-07

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People residing in Finland aged 15-79 (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. Interviews were conducted in 89 municipalities. The majority of interviews were conducted in the respondents' homes, and 313 respondents were interviewed in the premises of Taloustutkimus.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview: Computer-assisted (CAPI/CAMI)

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

92 variables and 1034 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of respondents, a 'municipality of residence' variable was removed from the data during archiving. In addition, the highest values were top-coded in the variables 'number of children in the household' (bv11) and 'number of persons in the household' (bv13).

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 2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2019-01-22). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3318

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 Materials

Suomalaisten mielipiteitä ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiikasta maanpuolustuksesta ja turvallisuudesta 2018 (2018) [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunta MTS. Tiedotteita ja katsauksia 1/2018. https://www.defmin.fi/files/4413/MTS_Suomalaisten_mielipiteita_ulko-_ja_turvallisuuspolitiikasta_maanpuolustuksesta_ja_turvallisuudesta_2019.pdf [viitattu 14.12.2018].

Related Publications

Suomalaisten mielipiteitä ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiikasta maanpuolustuksesta ja turvallisuudesta (2018). Helsinki: Maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunta MTS. Tiedotteita ja katsauksia 1/2018.

Finländarnas åsikter om utrikes- och säkerhetspolitiken, försvaret och säkerheten (2018). Helsingfors: Planeringskommissionen för försvarsinformation. Pressmeddelanden och översikter 1/2015.

Finns' opinions on foreign and security policy, national defence and security (2018). The Advisory Board for Defence Information. Bulletins and reports 1/2018.

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