ABSTRACT
The Aland Islands, located in the northern Baltic Sea proper, turned into a bone of contention between Sweden and Finland in the context of Finland gaining independence in 1917 and more generally in the aftermath of the First World War. At the end of 1917 the Alanders themselves signed an address with some 7,000 names requesting a reunion with Sweden. Aland has been taken to be a case demonstrating the options offered by the establishment of a legal regime or seen as indicating the achievements of peaceful settlement under the auspices of an international organization. Krister Wahlback has pointed out that the Aland Islands solution has functioned well over a very long period of time, so long that it has become exemplary in terms of peaceful settlement of conflicts. Aland may be integrated into Finland's military planning as one region among others. The critics insist that the chance of doing away with its specific and oppositional features should be used.
