Research projects in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

As a part of the Foreign Ministry's policy planning and research activities, its Policy Planning and Research Unit carries out research projects in cooperation with Finnish and foreign partners.

Research    completed in 2022:

• Leena Vastapuu & Minna Lyytikäinen; Gender Equality in Finnish Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2022, Independent study commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (pdf, 250 Kt, 35 pages)

Examples of partners in projects under way in 2020-2021:

• Dialogue Advisory Group(layout.types.url.description)
• CFFP, Center for Feminist Foreign Policy(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), Germany
• CEOBS, Conflict and Environment Observatory(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), UK
• SNV, Stiftung Neue Verantwortung(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), Germany
• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), Germany, UK
• Women of the Arctic ry(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), Finland
• The Brookings Institution(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), USA
• Finnish Institute of International Affairs(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), Finland
• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window) (SIPRI), Sweden
• DiploFoundation(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), Switzerland
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace(layout.types.url.description), USA
• University of Turku(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window), Finland

The final reports of the most recently completed research projects are listed below. Further information about them and projects that have been completed earlier can be requested by e-mail to STU-00@formin.fi.

• Venäjä ja turvallisuus – Tutkimus- ja asiantuntijatarjonta Suomessa(layout.types.url.description) (only in Finnish)

• Governance Prospects in Northern Iraq and Syria (pdf, 10 pages, 535 kb) 

• DiploFoundation: The future of (multilateral) diplomacy_Changes in response to COVID-19 and beyond(layout.types.url.description) (pdf, 38 pages)

• UPI: Finnish foreign policy during EU membership(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window) (pdf, 34 pages)

• SIPRI: Transparency in arms procurement_limitations and opportunities for assessing global armament developments(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window) (pdf, 20 pages)

• International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): Arctic Policies and Strategies — Analysis, Synthesis, and Trends (Opens New Window) (pdf, 5,59 Mt, 265 page)

• ETLA: Brexit and Indirect Impact Routes through Global Value Chains (Opens New Window) (711 KB)
• ECFR: Three Crises and An Opportunity: Europe’s Stake in Multilateralism (Opens New Window) (2 MB)
• Chatham House: Russia’s Military posture in the Arctic; Managing Hard Power in a ‘Low Tension’ Environment (Opens New Window)(1 MB)
• Ministry of Defence, Ministry of the Interior and Ministry for Foreign Affairs: Russia of Power-report(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
• DiploFoundation: Mapping the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence for the conduct of diplomacy

• European Policy Centre (EPC): Competing priorities at the EUs external border

• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI): The New Geopolitics of Peace Operations III: Non‑traditional Security Challenges initiative:

  • Multilateral Peace Operations and the Challenges of Organized Crime

  • Multilateral Peace Operations and the Challenges of Terrorism and Violent Extremism

• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)(layout.types.url.description): Can Europe Save the World Order(layout.types.url.description)
• Carnegie(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Cooperation and Competition: Russia and China in Central Asia, the Russian Far East and the Arctic (layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
• DiploFoundation(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Data Diplomacy: Updating diplomacy to the big data era (layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
• VATT Institute for Economic Research(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): The expected economic impacts of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in Finland(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
• Erik Castrén Institute(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Autonomous Weapon Systems an International Humanitarian Law: Out of the Loop? (Opens New Window) (pdf, 456 KB, 76 pages)
• Tampere Peace Research Institute(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): The Era of Private Peacemakers: A New Dialogic Approach to Mediation (Opens New Window)
• Solid Plan Consulting(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): EU Targeted Sanctions and Fundamental Rights (Opens New Window)
• Brookings(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window):
  • Dealing with a simmering Ukraine-Russia conflict(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
  • Putin and the Kremlin are experts at reading the popular mood. And they were watching America(layout.types.url.description)
  • Why small steps on Russia are better than attempts at a grand bargain(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
  • Draw red lines on Russia (layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)): African Directions Towards an Equitable Partnership in Peace Operations(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)
• Center for Transatlantic Relations: Forward Resilience: Protecting Society in an Interconnected World (pdf)
• University of Oxford and Future of Humanity Institute(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Existential Risk Diplomacy and Governance (Opens New Window)

• Finnish Water Forum(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Towards closer Nordic cooperation in the water sector(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window) (pdf, 2,3 MB, 66 pages)

• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR(layout.types.url.description)): Putin’s hydra: Inside Russia’s intelligence services(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)

• European Policy Centre (EPC(layout.types.url.description)): Europe's Troublemakers (layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)

• Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)): An Arctic Redesign(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)

• Richard Gowan: The UN and Finnish Security: a 60th Anniversary Audit

• Brookings Institution(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Democracy, Human Rights and the Emerging Global Order (layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window)

• The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): The Contribution of the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions to the Panel of Eminent Persons (layout.types.url.description)

• Clingendael (Netherlands Institute of International Relations)(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Diplomacy in the Digital Age (Opens New Window) (pdf, 78 pages, 700 KB)

• SaferGlobe(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Nordic Arms Transfer Controls and the Arms Trade Treaty (Opens New Window) (pdf, 33 pages, 724 KB)

• Clingendael (Netherlands Institute of International Relations)(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window): Futures for Diplomacy(layout.types.url.description) (pdf, 4,3 MB, 85 pages)

• SIPRI: Multilateral peace operations and the challenges of organized crime(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window) (pdf, 16 pages)

• SIPRI: Multilateral peace operations and the challenges of terrorism and violent extremism(layout.types.url.description) (Opens New Window) (pdf, 16 pages)

In addition to these, different departments have their own research projects. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is also involved in the government’s analysis, assessment and research activities (VN-TEAS(layout.types.url.description)).