Date of Graduation
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Political Science (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Political Science
Advisor/Mentor
Donald Kelley
Committee Member
Geoboo Song
Second Committee Member
Margaret Reid
Keywords
mature anarchy, Russian aggression, Crimean invasion, annexation, Google trends, international trade, international law, mutual defense
Abstract
The rules-based international system which has steadily emerged over the last century is in decline. Realists fail to realize that the fundamental anarchy of the international system can mature into a rules-based system which constrains geopolitics. Liberals fail to realize that it can regress in the opposite direction, towards the self-help system described by the realists. Small states stand to lose the most in this regression and are least equipped to fight it by material means. Finland is an ideal example of such a small state, and its foreign policy is articulated by President Sauli Niinistö. This paper will analyze the text of the Finnish President’s speeches for verbal attempts to protect and promote the rules-based system in response to events which occurred during his presidency and regress the system from mature to immature anarchy.
Citation
Main, C. (2019). The Finnish Line: Verbal Tactics of Small States in Immature Anarchy. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3217