The September 11 attacks as viewed from Quebec: the small-nation code in geopolitical discourse

The media and the irony of politically serious situations: consequences of the Muhammed cartoons in Finland

“…Although the sarcastic criticism of post-Finlandization had its point, is it not ironic that the most notable motive behind the criticism was a fear of what ‘they’ (the world) think about ‘us’ (Finland)? Considering all the articles discussing the theme of Finlandization, it is actually difficult to say whether they are criticizing the ‘small-nation code’ of Finnish political reactions (see Adams, 2004) or whether they just represent other sociocultural practices that strengthen it. Ironically, headlines such as ‘Is Finland short of jokes?’ and ‘Finns don’t joke’ mean in practice that ‘we’ are the ones who lack the capability for handling irony, the ones who lack intelligence, sophistication and wit.…”

Geopolitics of Humour: The Muhammed Cartoon Crisis and theKaltioComic Strip Episode in Finland

“…Finlandisation, a code for avoiding political crisis, is a typical example of what the 'small nation' code means in practice. 69 Finlandisation has been a crucial part of the Finnish nation-building process, and the fact that internal political decisions have been substantially influenced by the Soviet Union has at the same time altered the self-understanding of the Finnish people. 70 As a typical 'small nation' code, Finlandisation represented a low level of political and economic power, 71 an antithesis to the 'march-of-civilisation' code, 72 functioning as a lens on the world and providing a contrasting perspective to the hegemonic world views.…”

Has Québec Become a Northern Mexico? Public Opinion and America's “Long War”

“…Former sovereignist leader Lucien Bouchard insisted that anti-Americanism did exist in Canada, but was mainly to be found in Ontario, not in Québec, as he noted that the francophone province had been the strongest supporter of free trade with the United States (Maillard 1996, 147-8;Chodos and Hamovitch 1991). Yet the new millennium would witness an attitudinal shift, with polls in 2003 registering a decline of 22 percent in America's popularity among Quebeckers as compared with a decade previously (Adams 2004). What these recent polls did not, and could not, reveal is the detailed nature of Québec's growing ambivalence about America, something that becomes evident when one distinguishes between economic and military issues, as well as between Americans and George W. Bush's administration.…”