Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change

by Jared Diamond

Here is President Kekkonen’s explanation of his own and Paasikivi’s policy, from his political autobiography: “The basic task of Finnish foreign policy is to reconcile the existence of our nation with the interests which dominate Finland’s geopolitical environment …. [Finnish foreign policy is] preventive diplomacy. The task of this diplomacy is to sense approaching danger before it is too close and take measures which help to avoid this danger — preferably in such a way that as few as possible notice that it has been done …. Particularly for a small state which harbors no illusions that the stances it takes can swing the scales one way or another, it is vitally important to be able in good time to form a correct conception of the strength of those factors on which future development in the military and political sector will depend …. A nation should rely only on itself. The war years taught us an expensive lesson in this respect …. Experience also taught us that a small country purely and simply cannot afford to mix emotions — be they feelings of sympathy or antipathy — into its foreign policy solutions. A realistic foreign policy should be based on awareness of the essential factors in international politics, namely national interests and the power of relationships between states.”