Suchergebnisse

"This book opens new perspectives into the Cold War ideological confrontations. Using Austria and Finland as an example, it shows how the Cold War battles for the hearts and minds of the people also influenced policies in countries that wished to stay outside the conflict. Following the model of older European neutrals, Austria and Finland sought to combine neutrality with democracy. The combination was eagerly challenged by ideological Cold Warriors on both sides of the divide and questioned at home too. Was neutrality risking the neutrals' commitment to democracy, or did the commitment to the western type of democracy threaten their commitment to neutrality? Confronting these doubts grew into an organic part of practicing neutrality in the Cold War world. The neutrals needed to be exceptionally clear regarding the ideological foundations of their neutrality. Successful neutrality required a great deal of conceptual consistence and domestic unanimity. None of this was pre-given in Austria or Finland. However, in the model of Switzerland and Sweden, (armed) neutrality was systematically integrated with the official state ideology and promoted as a part of national identity. Legacies of these policies outlived the end of the Cold War"--

This article examines the role that the constitution and the deep-seated, cultural respect for constitutional and administrative stability have played in Finland. The text examines this tradition in a long historical perspective stretching from the nineteenth-century administrative and cultural 'defence' battles to the militant legalist protection of the constitutional stability in the 1930s, and, finally, analyses the slow but determined turn towards a more distinctively 'Nordic', more integrative and inclusive, model of managing the fragilities within modern democracy. The article argues that Finland of the early twentieth century presents an exceptionally early case of militant and defensive democracy, and, moreover, one that demonstrates the role of the long-term politico-cultural traditions in the adoption of features of militant democracy in a society. This distinctively defensive, and at times, militant constitutionalist ethos has served to protect democracy at many critical moments in the history of twentieth-century Finland. Yet, the protection has often been secondary to the main priority, namely, the maintenance of the stability of the existing constitutional order. This attitude has marked the notions and practices of modern democracy throughout the twentieth century in Finland.

Taiteellisen toiminnan merkitys sosiaalisessa nuorisotyössä on hyvin tunnistettu. Poikien Talolla tehtävän sukupuolisensitiivisen nuorisotyön yhdeksi toteutustavaksi on noussut luova työote, jota toteutetaan pääosin ammattitaiteilijoiden vetämissä luovuuspajoissa. Luovuuspajat jäsentyvät kolmen ulottuvuuden ympärille: oppiminen, taiteellinen ilmaisu ja sosiaaliset vaikutukset. Käytäntökuvauksessa avataan näitä ulottuvuuksia toiminnan taustana ja esitetään käytännön työkaluja, joilla niiden toteutuminen voidaan varmistaa. Luova toiminta mahdollistaa sensitiivisten aiheiden kuten sukupuolen käsittelemisen tekemisen kautta. Monella pajoihin osallistuvalla nuorella on haasteita sosiaalisissa vuorovaikutustilanteissa, eikä esimerkiksi sukupuolen tai muiden oman elämän kysymysten käsittely etenkään sanallisesti ole helppoa. Kiireetön tekeminen ja tuttu ryhmä luovat turvallisen ympäristön monien teemojen käsittelyyn myös ilman sanoja. Käytäntökuvauksessa hyödynnetään nuorilta ja ohjaajilta kerättyjä palautteita, joiden pohjalta jaetaan nuorten ja ohjaajien kokemuksia luovuuspajoista oman äänen vahvistajana.

This article examines Finland's Cold War neutrality, highlighting its political and ideational dimensions. In contrast to other scholars who have stressed the pragmatic realpolitik considerations behind Finnish policymaking, the article demonstrates that political and ideological considerations were at least as important in shaping Finnish Cold War neutrality. The ideological and political identity dimensions are connected to the strong national consensus that lay behind Finnish neutrality policy and its wide, sustained public support. Paying attention to these dimensions helps us also to understand continuities in Finnish foreign and security policy that have continued into the post–Cold War period. The continuities of Cold War–era neutrality formulations are illustrated by a discussion of Finnish foreign policymaking in the final phase of the Cold War and the early 1990s.

The ideology behind the Finnish criminal policy is described as humane and rational. In line with this policy, efforts are made to reduce the use of the criminal justice system to solve societal problems. One of the internationally celebrated landmarks of this policy is the success in keeping the imprisonment rate at a low level. In this article we argue, that while this policy has been sensitive towards the needs of the offenders, it has failed to recognize the needs of victims, especially the vulnerabilities related to the victimisation of violence and sexual violence. International critical analyses on the appraisal of the victim rights have raised fearsamong the criminal policy planners in Finlandand prevented analytical discussion. Furthermore, the reluctance toinvolvethe victim perspectiveinthe criminal political discussionsis based on mistaken ideas of what the victims really want.In the article, we will considerhow to strengthen the position of the victim without making the criminal policy more punitive in general.

Chapter 20 of the Finnish Criminal Code, which regulates sexual offences, is currently undergoing structural changes. Focusing on the section of rape, this article investigates the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Justice in 2020 in the light of the current Finnish legislation, legal practice, supranational normative developments and societal change. Lessons are drawn from a recent research project about the attrition of sexual violence in the Finnish criminal process by a research team at the University of Turku. The article welcomes the increased emphasis on voluntariness, contextuality, power imbalances and communication in the suggested draft law. It also criticises some weaknesses of the draft legislation. Conclusively, it proposes further action to improve legal clarity and strengthen the enforcement of a new legal conceptualisation of sexual violence.