Change and Continuity in North European Security: Finland and Sweden’s Membership in NATO

Öz

This study aims to analyze the change and continuity in Northern European Security after Finland and Sweden’s membership processes in NATO. With this purpose, firstly I examined the history of the countries in the region to detect possible continuities in their relations. Russia’s lack of respect for the sovereignty of its neighbors since 2008 and lastly the occupation of Ukraine forced Finland and Sweden to leave their long-lasting non-aligned status and caused to invalidate the concept of ‘Finlandization’. This study secondly focuses on this radical change’s effect on the security understanding of Northern Europe with a concentration on the role of NATO. The findings of this article put forward that recent NATO enlargement is vital for regional states to be able to counter Russia through uniting countries except Russia in the Baltic and Arctic. Russia is applying ‘hybrid war’ tactics as an unreliable regional power and it has been stuck in Ukraine since February 2022. NATO must learn from the Russia-Ukraine War and prepare against Russia’s conventional superiority over its neighboring states and the usage of asymmetrical means since no one may guarantee that Russia’s next steps will not violate the sovereignty of other regional states.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership
• North European Security
• NATO Enlargement

Kuzey Avrupa Güvenliğinde Süreklilik ve Değişim: Finlandiya ve İsveç'in NATO Üyelikleri

Öz

Bu çalışma, Finlandiya ve İsveç’in NATO üyelik süreçleri sonrasında Kuzey Avrupa Güvenliğindeki süreklilik ve değişimi analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, öncelikle devamlılıkları tespit etmek için bölge ülkelerinin tarihi incelenmiştir. Rusya’nın 2008 yılından beri komşularının egemenliklerine saygı göstermemesi ve son olarak da Ukrayna’yı işgali, Finlandiya ve İsveç’i uzun süreli tarafsızlık konumlarını terk etmeye zorladı ve ‘Finlandiyalılaşma’ kavramının da geçersiz kılınmasına sebep oldu. Bu çalışma, ikincil olarak, bu radikal değişimin Kuzey Avrupa güvenlik anlayışı üzerindeki etkisine ve NATO’nun rolüne odaklanmaktadır. Araştırmanın bulguları, Baltık ve Arktika bölgelerinde Rusya haricindeki bölge ülkelerinin NATO’nun genişlemesi çerçevesinde bir araya gelebilmesinin Rusya’ya karşı koyabilmeleri açısından hayati olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Rusya, ‘hibrit savaş’ taktikleri uygulayan güvenilemez bir bölgesel güç olarak Şubat 2022’den itibaren Ukrayna’da zor durumdadır. Rusya’nın sonraki adımlarının diğer bölge ülkelerinin egemenliklerini ihlal etmeyeceğine kimse garanti veremeyeceği için NATO, Ukrayna savaşından gerekli dersleri çıkarmalı, Rusya’nın bölgedeki konvansiyonel üstünlüğüne ve kullandığı asimetrik araçlara karşı hazırlıklarını tamamlamalıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Finlandiya ve İsveç’in NATO Üyeliği
• Kuzey Avrupa Güvenliği
• NATO Genişlemesi

Etik Beyan

Çalışma etik beyan gerektirmemektedir.

Kaynakça

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