Study title

Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence 2022: Spring

Dataset ID Number

FSD3676

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3676
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3676

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI)

Abstract

A condensed version of the annual Finnish Opinions on Security Policy National Defence survey charted Finnish public opinion on foreign policy, defence policy, security, military alliances, and international armed conflicts at the time of the survey.

Views on whether Finland should resort to armed defence in case of any sort of attack and whether the respondents would be prepared to participate in national defence according to their abilities were investigated. Opinions on Finland's military non-alignment were examined by asking the respondents whether Finland should join a military alliance or remain militarily non-aligned. The respondents were also asked whether Finland should apply for NATO membership and whether they trusted the ability of the Finnish Defence Forces to defend Finland against military threats.

Next, the respondents' opinions on Finnish military cooperation in the EU, with NATO, other Nordic countries, and the United States were charted. The respondents were asked to evaluate the impact of several countries and organisations, such as Russia, China, US, UN, NATO and EU, on Finland's security. Views on how the military situation in nearby regions would develop during the next decade were also examined.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, economic activity and occupational status, household composition, ages of children living at home (categorised), gross annual income of the household, level of education, type of accommodation, region of residence, number of inhabitants in the municipality of residence, political party choice in the previous parliamentary elections, and political party choice if the parliamentary elections were held at the time of the survey.

Keywords

armed forces; defence; defence and state security policy; foreign policy; foreign relations; international alliances; military operations; national security

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Conflict, security and peace (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• International politics and organisations (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

2022

Collection Dates

2022-04-07 – 2022-05-03

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

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

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Quota

Respondents were drawn using quota sampling with quotas based on age, gender, region and type of municipality. The sample was weighted to represent the target population.

Because of the coronavirus epidemic, the study was conducted as a combination of face-to-face interviews and an online survey distributed to the Taloustutkimus internet panel. In total, 501 face-to-face interviews were conducted, and 501 responses were received for the online survey distributed to the internet panel.

The face-to-face interviews were conducted between 7 April and 3 May 2022. The 20 interviewers had been trained by Taloustutkimus in conducting interview research. The online survey was open to members of the internet panel between 19 and 29 April 2022.

Collection Mode

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

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

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

42 variables and 1002 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

For age groups, under 50-year-olds are somewhat underrepresented in the data, whereas over 65-year-olds are overrepresented. Weighting can be used to correct the data for age.

To prevent identification of respondents, the variable denoting municipality of residence was removed from the data and the variables denoting the number of children living in the household and household size (bv11, bv13) were top-coded. Additionally, the variables denoting the children's ages (0-17) were categorised at FSD into two new variables: children aged 0-6 (bv10a) and 7-17 (bv10b).

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable (paino), matching the sample to the distributions of the of the 15-79-year-old population in Finland (in thousands) (SVT 31.12.2020).

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 2022: Spring [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2022-08-03). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3676

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 (2022). Helsinki: Maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunta MTS. Tiedotteita ja katsauksia 2022:1. Toukokuu 2022.

Related Publications

Suomalaisten mielipiteitä ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiikasta, maanpuolustuksesta ja turvallisuudesta (2022). Helsinki: Maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunta MTS. Tiedotteita ja katsauksia 2022:1. Toukokuu 2022.

Finns' opinions on foreign and security policy, national defence and security (2022). Helsinki: Advisory Board for Defence Information. Bulletins and reports, 2022:3. May 2022.

Finländarnas åsikter om utrikes- och säkerhetspolitiken, försvaret och säkerheten (2022). Helsingfors: Planeringskomissionen för Försvarsinformation PFI. Pressmeddelanden och översikter, 2022:2. Maj 2022.

Pihlajamäki, Roosa (2023). Katsaus suomalaisten näkemykseen Suomen turvallisuuspolitiikasta sekä maanpuolustuksesta vuosina 2021 ja 2022. Matematiikan kandidaatin tutkielma. Oulu: Oulun yliopisto.

Weckman, Albert (2023) Public opinion and NATO: How different security environments influence the support for NATO in Finland. Nordic Review of International Studies 1, 4-24.