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Article published In: Discourses on Racism and Resilience: Between power and resistance
Edited by Marjo Lindroth, Heidi Sinevaara-Niskanen and Claes Tängh Wrangel
[Journal of Language and Politics 25:2] 2026
► pp. 235–256

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Resilience in Finnish security and defence rhetoric

Examining colonial underpinnings

ORCiD logo with link | University of Lapland
ORCiD logo with link | University of Helsinki
ORCiD logo with link | University of Lapland
Published online: 5 December 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.25100.lin
Abstract
This paper examines Finland’s transformed security and defence policies. Following a broader European trend, Finland has begun emphasising resilience as a source of national security. Drawing on previous scholarship that has problematised the normalisation of resilience in security discussions, we examine Finland’s resilience rhetoric. Our focus is on two government reports from 2024 that represent the country’s new security vocabulary. Using Toulmin’s model or argumentation, we dissect how the argument for security-driven resilience is constructed. Finland is an Arctic country where an Indigenous people — the Sámi — live and, overall, the country has acknowledged Indigenous peoples’ vital role in the development of the region. Accordingly, it is pertinent to study how the notion of resilience proffered by the state acknowledges Sámi perspectives. By problematising the assumptions of unity and neutrality that characterise Finland’s security and defence rhetoric, the paper contributes to the discussions on the colonial underpinnings of resilience.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Building security through resilience
  • 3.Security-driven resilience in the Arctic
  • 4.Toulmin’s model as a tool for rhetorical analysis
  • 5.Deconstructing Finnish security and defence rhetoric
    • 5.1Data: How is resilience described?
    • 5.2Warrants and backings: Why does Finland exercise resilience?
    • 5.3Qualifiers and rebuttals: What could compromise, weaken or strengthen the claim?
  • 6.Problematising neutrality and unity in Finnish resilience policy
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (65)
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