Finlandisation versus westernisation: Political recognition and Finland's European Union membership debate

It is often said that Finland's European Union (EU) membership in 1995 finally made it a ‘purely Western’ nation. This article theorises upon the membership debate by studying the geopolitical rhetoric used for and against EU membership from 1990 to 1994. It is argued that political studies of this kind should address arguments used in situations where competing actors try to persuade the public to support their own political goals and to increase their political power. In this context, national identity (i.e., competing interpretations of national history, geographical affiliation, the national future and national interests) becomes a rhetorical resource for political elites. The EU membership debate that took place in Finland reveals how important geography was in the context of this identity-political dispute and emphasises the importance of political recognition in legitimising crucial political decisions—in this case, joining the Western European integration process.