Book Reviews : Raimo Väyrynen: Conflicts in Finnish-Soviet Relations: Three Comparative Case Studies. Acta Universitatis Tamperensis. Ser. A, Vol. 47, Tampere 1972. 270 pp
| Author | Katarina Brodin |
| Date | 01 March 1974 |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083677400900134 |
| Published date | 01 March 1974 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
320
did
things
and
not
only
of
those
who
talked
about
them.
But
that
is
the
type
of
history
of
which
the
modern
social
scientist
has
little
understanding.
Still,
the
author
clearly
under-
stands
that
Viggen
stands
out
as
a
first-class
plane
developed
by
a
relatively
small
group
of
first-class
engineers
and
administrators
with
the
help
of
the
most
modern
management
system.
The
project
has
brought
’spin
offs’
of
fundamental
importance
for
the
fighting
power
and
independence
of
the
Swedish
armed
forces
and
for
the
quality
of
Swedish
industrial
production.
One
could
wish
that
there
was
the
vision,
determination
and
cour-
age,
so
clearly
brought
out
by
the
author,
in
the
remainder
of
the
Nordic
area.
All
those
wishing
to
study
the
way
in
which
large-scale,
important
projects
are
handled
in
both
closed
and
open
political
arenas
have,
in
Ingemar
D6rfer’s
book,
a
new
source
com-
parable
to
the
accounts
of
Skybolt
and
the
TSR2
but
with
a
happier
outcome.
D6rfer’s
book
is
an
original
study,
impres-
sive
in
its
wealth
of
detail
and
its
documen-
tation.
’
’
,,,
’
’
’
KATARINA
BRODIN
Raimo
Väyrynen:
Conflicts
in
Finnish-Soviet
Relations:
Three
Comparative
Case
Studies.
Acta
Universitatis
Tamperensis.
Ser.
A,
Vol.
47,
Tampere
1972.
270
pp.
The
nature
and
extent
of
Finland
dependence
on
the
Soviet
Union
seems
to
be
a
question
of
enduring
controversy
in
the
Nordic
arena.
On
the
one
extreme
there
are
those
advocating
theories
of
total
domination
and
’remote
con-
trol’,
who
claim
that
Finland’s
independence
is
for
all
practical
purposes
a
myth:
the
policies
pursued
by
Finland
are
those
ap-
proved
by
her
Great
Power
neighbor,
the
Soviet
Union.
This
line
of
reasoning
is,
of
course,
indignantly
opposed
by
Finnish
deci-
sion-makers.
According
to
the
official
foreign
policy
doctrine
Finland
is
in
no
way
subject
to
Soviet
domination:
the
decisions
taken
on
various
issues
are
entirely
her
own.
All claims
to
the
contrary
are
simply
untrue.
Even
in
1958
and
1961,
when
Finland
experienced
serious
difficulties
in
her
relations
with
the
Soviet
Union,
there
was,
one
is
told,
a
choice
of
alternatives.
However,
Finnish
policy
has
been
directed
to
the
needs
of
the
national
interest.’
Considering
the
intensity
of
this
debate,
as
well
as
the
wide
range
of
prevalent
opinions,
all
efforts
at
a
serious
analysis
of
the
nature
of
the
Soviet-Finnish
relationship
are
to
be
welcomed.
Vayrynen’s
book -
a
revised
version
of
a
licensiate
thesis
presented
at
the
Univer-
sity
of
Tampere
in
the
spring
of
1970 -
can
be
seen
as
an
important
contribution
in
this
field;
it
addresses
itself
to
questions
of
cardinal
importance
for
the
evaluation
of
Finland’s
international
position
in
the
postwar
era.
In
his
study
Raimo
Viyrynen
focuses
on
what
he
labels
’three
sanction
cases
in
one
action
system’,
i.e.
(1)
the
events
in
1948-49
following
the
dissolution
of
the
government
coalition
consisting
of
Social
Democrats,
Communists
and
members
of
the
Agrarian
Party,
(2)
the
so-called
’night
frosts’
in
1958-
59,
and
(3)
the
note
crises
of
1961,
when
the
Soviet
Union
for
the
first
time
invoked
the
military
clauses
of
the
Treaty
of
Friendship.
Cooperation
and
Mutual
Assistance
(TFCMA)
signed
on
6
April
1948.
According
to
the
author
the
general
aim
of
the
study
is
’to
develop
an
analytical
framework,
on
the
basis
of
which
it
may
be
possible
to
explore
systematically
the
conditions
under
which
a
state
attempts
to
influence
the
behavior
of
another
state
and
simultaneously
analyze
the
factors
that
impinge
upon
the
selection
of
means
of
influence
in
interstate
relations’.
In
ad-
dition,
Viyrynen
hopes
to
develop
’some
frag-
ments
of
theory
by
which
the
effects
of
sanc-
tions
and
their
outcome
can
be
explained’
(p.
12).
The
central
concepts
of
the
analysis
are
said
to
be
’influence
attempt’
and
’outcome
of
sanctions’.
More
specifically
the
author
aims
at
clarifying
urhy
sanctions
have
been
applied
in
the
instances
cited
above,
urhat
kinds
of
sanctions
have
been
used
as
well
as
the
ef fects
of
these
sanctions
on
the
Finnish
political
system.
The
task
which
Viyrynen
has
set
for
himself
is
not
an
easy
one.
The
scope
of
the
study
is.
in
fact,
imposingly
broad.
In
two
introductory
chapters
an
account
is
given
of
the
conceptual
and
theoretical
frame-
work
on
which
the
empirical
analysis
is
based.
The
main
part
of
the
hypothesis
scrutinized
in
this
section
has
been
derived
from
various
sanction
and
conflict
theories.
The
overall
impression
is
one
of
intellectual
richness
and
great-
agility
of
mind.
It
is
quite
obvious
that
Viyrynen
in
his
readings
has
covered
con-
siderable
theoretical
ground.
However,
at
times
he
risks
being
carried
away
from
the
main
line
of
his
research
by
the
sheer
force
of
his
imaginativeness;
in
some
cases
he
thus
comes
close
to
falling
into
the
trap
of
eclectic-
ism.
Viyrynen
discusses
at
great
length
the
concept
of
sanctions
as
well
as
various
typolo-
gies
of
sanctions.
It
is
nevertheless
difficult
to
find
a
clear-cut
statement
including
his
own
definition
of
the
concept,
which
after
all
is
of
central
importance
to
the
study
as
a
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