ABSTRACT
The concluding chapter synthesises the book’s findings on Finland’s transformation from a militarily non-aligned small state to a NATO member. Perceived through the ends-ways-means approach to strategy, the chapter conveys a picture of a small state with not only national survival in mind. Rather, the emerging Finnish strategic posture is one that actively contributes to collective defence and deterrence by making good use of the pragmatic stance of its security and defence policy, enabling Finland to often punch above its weight and be strategically agile. This can be detected in different kinds of adaptive measures and policies in each of the book’s chapters, ranging from military preparedness and strategic culture to crisis management, deterrence and co-operation with partners. Therefore, we propose that Finland is a “leverage-state” in the making, which not only adds a novel thread to the analysis of small states in the IR literature but also portrays a picture of Finland as a rather innovative and consequential actor for collective defence in the Euro-Atlantic area.
