Studying Finland’s Cultural Diplomacy from World War II to the CSCE

Abstract

Between 1945 and the Helsinki CSCE meeting in 1975, personalities and institutions in Finland’s government discussed the role of the state in the country’s international cultural relations, both in the frame of the Cold War and in the context of a rapidly changing welfare state. After a period of war, the reality of Finland’s opening up to the world could be seen in the emergence of new cultural forms, new movements of population, new economic activities, and a surge in international trade contacts. Behind these spontaneous changes, one could also discern the handiwork of a series of public institutions and personalities that worked to change and modernize Finland’s society and its position in the world. This book is an effort to understand what international cultural relations meant for Finland’s foreign policy managers, and to document the development of state activism in this domain during the first three decades of the Cold War.