Research project Gender, national identities and security in the Baltic Sea region

In the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland and Sweden applied for membership in NATO. This constitutes the most fundamental security shift in the Baltic Sea region since the end of the Cold War. In joining NATO, the Nordic neighbors will put an end to their historical legacies as non-aligned and neutral states, a central feature of Cold War security policy and national identity in both countries. How did the shift come about, and how was national identity renegotiated in relation to it?

This project uses feminist and poststructuralist theory and a comparative discourse analytical design to analyze the shift. Arguing that gender, sexuality and emotion are integral features of both national identity and security policy, the project investigates how gendered national identities were renegotiated in, and in effect influenced, Finland’s and Sweden’s shifts towards NATO membership 1991–2024.

What are the similarities and differences in how gender has informed national identity and security in Finland and Sweden? What roles have sexuality and emotions played? Sources include official policy statements, parliamentary records, opinion pieces and artistic and cultural interventions. Analysis of such sources make it possible to study how official policy has been propounded and challenged over time. The aim is to unfold how gendered national identities have been re-negotiated alongside increased military cooperation with NATO.