ABSTRACT
While Finns may think of themselves as a ‘superpower’, the fact remains that Finland was far slower than the other Nordic countries to take up the challenges posed by the new types of peace operations. Finland’s initial reaction was to stick with traditional peacekeeping and leave more challenging operations to the great powers. By 1995 this position had become untenable and Finland consequently participated in IFOR together with the other Nordic nations. Enhancing the Finnish capacity to participate in peace operations that go beyond traditional peacekeeping has been a priority since then, and in 2005 a bill paving the way for participation in peace enforcement involving offensive operations was submitted to parliament. Its adoption is unlikely to create the political will required for such participation anytime soon, however.
