Publications of the Academy of Finland 4/02

Finnish Research on Foreign and Security Policy. Evaluation Report

The scientific quality and societal relevance of research done on foreign and security policy in Finland since 1995 has been evaluated by an international panel. Foreign and security issues were interpreted broadly to cover human security, environmental security, and more generally, international relations and Finland’s activities in them. The evaluation showed that the quality of the research is of uneven quality. In the future, priority should be given to more generic and theoretical problems compared to research based on local and contemporary interest. More emphasis should also be placed on researcher training. The evaluation panel strongly recommends internationalization of Finnish foreign policy and security research. The Finnish research community should pay increased attention to publishing in international peer reviewed journals and to expanding their networks with similar organizations abroad.