Tekijät

• Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI)

Asiasanat

NATO, armed forces, conscription, defence, defence and state security policy, foreign policy, foreign relations, international alliances, international conflict, national security, resilience, war

Sisällön kuvaus

The annual Finnish Opinions on Security Policy National Defence 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. This survey round also included questions about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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, whether the respondents would be prepared to participate in national defence according to their abilities, and how the global security situation would develop in the next five years. Views were probed on the current, conscription-based defence system. Satisfaction with defence policy in the previous few years was also investigated.

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. The respondents were asked whether their trust in the future of the European Union had weakened, strengthened or stayed the same. Additionally, the respondents' trust in the ability of the Finnish Defence Forces to defend Finland against military threats was examined. Views were probed on how diplomacy, EU defence cooperation, EU defence industrial collaboration, international crisis management, and Nordic defence cooperation contributed to Finland's security alongside NATO membership.

Next, concerns caused by certain phenomena and issues were charted, such as withdrawals from arms controls agreements, climate change, various infectious diseases and epidemics, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organised crime, international terrorism, inflation, cyberthreats, development of artificial intelligence, political extremism, racism and current developments in Russia, the US, the Middle East and the Baltic Sea regions. On the topic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the respondents were asked whether the EU and its member states should continue to offer military and financial support to Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia. The respondents were also asked whether other NATO states should be ready to defend Finland in case of an armed attack on Finland and whether Finland should be prepared to defend other NATO states in case of an armed attack on another NATO state.

Finally, the respondents were asked about Finnish society's preparedness for crises, their own capacity to cope in such situations, and whether they believed the United States would defend Finland or other European countries under NATO obligations.

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, region of residence and political party choice.