Hiski Haukkala on the renaissance of Nordic cooperation

In May, the Department of Scandinavian Studies and the Jackson School for International studies Studies hosted Dr. Hiski Haukkala, the Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Dr. Haukkala is also an Adjunct Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, Finland, and a Senior Research Associate at RAND Europe.

Dr. Haukkala visited several UW classes and participated in a roundtable discussion at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle. During his visit, he gave a public lecture at the UW on the changing security dynamics in the north. Dr. Haukkala argued that the Russian Invasion of Ukraine is a watershed moment in European history.

According to Haukkala, post-Cold War Europe was mistaken to rely on the peace dividend and not to recognize Russian ambitions to reassert supremacy over formerly Soviet-occupied countries. Consequently Hauakkala argued that Nordic and Baltic countries will need to increase their own defensive capabilities to meet current hybrid attacks from Russian and future acts of aggression.

If the Russian Invasion of Ukraine has a silver lining for the Nordic and Baltic countries, Haukkala argued, it is that the Nordic and Baltic countries have begun working more productively together toward defensive goals. Finland joined NATO in 2023 and Sweden joined in 2023. However, support from NATO has been jeopardized as American support becomes more uncertain. Despite the Nordic countries having a large number of fighter jets, Haukkala argued that Europe will need to develop a credible deterrent that is independent of the United States in order to protect the sovereignty of its member states.