Study title

Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence 2009

Dataset ID Number

FSD2590

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2590

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI)

Abstract

This annual survey charted Finnish public opinion on foreign policy, defence policy, security, military alliances, and the situation in Afghanistan.

The respondents were asked how well Finland had managed its foreign policy and defence policy, and should Finland take up arms to defend itself if it were attacked. Opinions were charted on defence forces funding and military objectives, whether Finland should stay neutral or join NATO, whether the conscription system should be maintained, and what factors were important for creating strong defence. The respondents were asked to what extent they feel concern about various issues, such as the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq or the Middle East, terrorism, environmental issues, use of nuclear power, nuclear weapons, climate change, economic situation in the world and in Finland, weapons of mass destruction etc. Further questions covered opinions on the impact of various factors on the security of Finland (e.g. the EU, UN, NATO, certain countries becoming members of the EU or NATO, Finland's participation in international crisis management or the European Rapid Reaction Force, Finland's neutrality, increase in foreign ownership in the country etc).

Views were probed on how well the country had prepared itself against a number of threats (terrorism, international crime, attack against communication networks, energy availability etc), and what kind of threats the country should prepare itself for.

One theme pertained to the Afghan conflict, what was it all about, how well the international community had supported the Afghan administration in reaching various goals (such as improving the situation of women, fight against terrorism, decreasing illegal drug production), and on what kind of operations should the Finnish troops concentrate in Afghanistan (e.g. should they help build democracy, educate local armed forces, educate the police).

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, occupational status and economic activity, marital status, occupation of the household head, household composition, age of children living at home, household income, television viewing per week, type of accommodation, municipality size and type, major region (NUTS2) and region (NUTS3)of residence, ownership of car, home, holiday home and consumer durables, Internet use, and political party choice if parliamentary elections were held at that time.

Keywords

European integration; armed forces; conflict; conflict resolution; conscription; defence; defence and state security policy; foreign policy; international alliances; international conflict resolution; international relations; national security; terrorism

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Conflict, security and peace (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Taloustutkimus

Time Period Covered

2009

Collection Dates

2009-09-25 – 2009-10-12

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 15 - 79 living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Quota

Quota sampling based on the gender, age, province, and municipality type distributions. For this study, interviews were conducted in 81 municipalities, of which 46 were urban and 53 rural municipalities.

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

187 variables and 981 cases.

Data Version

2.0

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable, matching the sample to the distributions of the 15 - 79 year-old population (in thousands)

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Advisory Board for Defence Information (ABDI): Finnish Opinions on Security Policy and National Defence 2009 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-08-22). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2590

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Afganistan-kysymykset 2009 [verkkodokumentti]. Maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunta MTS. http://www.defmin.fi/index.phtml?463_m=4103&s=263 [viitattu 10.1.2011]

Suomalaisten mielipiteitä ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiiikasta, maanpuolustuksesta ja turvallisuudesta 2009 (2009) [verkkodokumentti]. Maanpuolustustiedotuksen suunnittelukunta MTS. http://www.defmin.fi/index.phtml?463_m=4157&s=263 [viitattu 10.1.2011]

The ABDI Survey 2009 (2010) [online]. Helsinki: Advisory Board of Defence Information, ABDI. http://www.defmin.fi/files/1515/The_ABDI_Survey_2009.pdf [cited 7 Feb. 2014].

The ABDI Survey Graphs 2009 (2010) [online]. Helsinki: Advisory Board of Defence Information, ABDI. http://www.defmin.fi/files/1516/The_ABDI_Survey_2009_pictures.pdf [cited 7 Feb. 2014].

Gustafsberg, Harri & Nyman, Markku (2018). Yksilöresilienssi ja yhteiskunnan turvallisuus. Tampere: Mentoritiimi.