No news is good news? Making the Finnish public image of Russia
Abstract
Finland and the Russian Federation share significant overlaps in history. With the exception of a couple of conflicts, the relationship between the two is commonly described as friendly. With a common border of more than 1,300 km, Finland has always been closely tied to its eastern neighbor. Despite the physical proximity, the Cold War era closure of the border increased the mental distance between the two sides, and fostered an image of the other colored largely by attitudinal stereotypes. For a long time, the tightly secured border was deemed as a necessary construction, which allowed cross-border flows and influence to be managed and filtered. The resulting ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality etched in the minds of many has proven to be far more deeply rooted and harder to erase than the political border per se. In an attempt to trace the development of the portrayed image of Russia, this article analyzes the opinion columns featured in the main Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat during 1990–2010. The analysis suggests that little effort has been made to improve the popular geopolitical image of Russia. While understanding the potential of having Russia as a neighbor, many Finns continue to actively reconfirm the elements in the neighbor, which should be let go in order move beyond stereotypes. This tendency is only reinforced by the load of the language used, which seems to inhibit people from critically evaluating the opinions and views that they hold.
Russia-European Union Borderlands: Transboundary Gradients, Interactions and Current Challenges
Research on post-Soviet borders emphasizes the need to combine traditional and relatively new approaches to border studies. For Russia, of special importance are the European Union (EU) borders accounting for almost half of the country’s international trade. The border districts of Russia and the neighboring EU countries have become natural drivers of regional integration processes. The post-Soviet history of the Russia-EU borderlands has shown dynamism and large dependence on the geopolitical situation, asynchronous changes in the border functions and regimes on different segments, dissimilar economic development rates, asymmetry in interactions between the parties, and a combination of debordering and rebordering processes. Over the past years, the deteriorating geopolitical situation and the economic crisis in Russia increased the risks of a stricter border regime and a significant reduction in border traffic. It is worth examining the correlation of stability and dynamism factors in the border situation. An important factor ensuring the persistence of current differences and problems is the inertia of the settlement system and territorial economic structure at all levels. These factors determine the fluctuations in demographic and socioeconomic indicators and thus contribute to the “difference of potential” ensuring border traffic. The authors analyze the impact of gaps in demographic and socioeconomic indicators on different segments of the Russia-EU border, as well as the asymmetry in transboundary interaction, on their stability in the period of increasing political tensions in 2014-2015. Special attention is paid to the effect of these interactions on the social development and everyday life in the Russian borderlands. It is stressed that, even in the conditions of a serious political crisis and reciprocal sanctions, the barrier functions of the Russia-EU border increased insignificantly. The driving force behind border interactions is pragmatism, which makes it possible for border districts to attract additional resources to solve local problems. Keywords: Border Districts, Russia, European Union, Transboundary Interactions, Asymmetry, Asynchrony, Border Regime, Border Cooperation JEL Classifications: F5, O5, R1
Kant's 'Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason'
Preface 1. Context 2. Overview of Themes 3. Reading the Text Prefaces to the First and Second Editions Part I of the Religion Part II of the Religion Part III of the Religion Part IV of the Religion 4. Reception and Influence 5. Guide for Further Reading Bibliography Index