Maanpuolustuskurssit: foorumi strategiakeskustelulle

In this chapter, we outline the historical development of the Finnish National Defence Courses. This institution, founded in 1961, has become a unique forum where top decision makers in different spheres of the Finnish society – the state apparatus, political bodies, private business, labour unions, media, universities and military – get together for a designed amount of time to discuss in a structured and strategic way timely issues relevant to the Finnish security policy and national defence. New courses are currently organized four times a year, attracting yearly a total of some 200 participants. Based on a historical archival study of documents related to National Defence Courses, we trace how conceptions related to strategy have formed among the Finnish elites, and how particular conceptions have been transferred between representatives of different spheres of the society. Artikkeli on suomenkielinen.