ABSTRACT
The narrative of the Eastern threat has long been extensively used in Finland. The narrative builds on actual historical military conflicts, yet has also attained more ideological if not physiological functions. While this narrative must not be understated, this chapter makes a conscious effort to deviate from it. The insecurities many currently feel, it argues, are much broader and more varied than the conventional narrative of the Eastern threat suggests. Finland’s operating environment has changed remarkably since the Cold War era, and the ordinary security compass has been thrown off course by the current multiple crises and diverse threats that require a conscious effort to escape the narrative straitjacket of the Eastern threat. The concept of national security, with its narrow focus on state sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity, has become largely insufficient for grasping and explaining complex post-Cold War conflict and emergencies, an increasing share of which now transcends the territorial state linearity.
