Finland's history is a tapestry of geopolitical shifts and ethnic diversity that lay the foundations for the various communities within modern Finland's borders. In 1809, after the Finnish War, the territory that had been an integral part of the Swedish Empire since the medieval period became a grand duchy within the Russian Empire. The division of territory was based on strategic and geographic considerations more than ethnic ones. The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, signed at the Finnish town of Hamina, split Swedish-, Finnish-, and even Sámi-speaking communities between two states. The Swedish-language communities of Finland, representing approximately 20 percent of the population and located primarily on the eastern and southern coasts as well as the Åland Islands, found themselves in a state with a Finnish-speaking majority. For the Finnish speakers, this period brought with it a degree of autonomy and gradual modernization, although Finnish nationalism would not be fully realized until independence a century later. For the Swedish-speaking communities, it would mean a new negotiation of culture and identity.
The strategic importance of the Baltic led to the construction of a Russian fortress at Bomarsund on Åland in the beginning of the nineteenth century (Robins, Skogsjö, and Örjans 2006). In its heyday, the fortress offered access to culture and trade from throughout the Russian Empire, influencing the identity of the people of Åland. During the Crimean War of 1853–1856, British and French forces attacked and destroyed the fortress. This event eventually led to the demilitarization of Åland at the Treaty of Paris in 1856, as it became a buffer zone between the great powers, another critical moment in the identity of the people of Åland.
During the turbulence of World War I, Finland seized the opportunity to declare its independence from Russia on December 6, 1917. In the aftermath, to avoid conflict between Finland and Sweden, the Finnish Senate authorized some autonomy for Åland in 1920, and in 1921, the League of Nations reaffirmed Åland's status as a demilitarized zone at the Convention of Åland. This international agreement ensured that the islands would remain neutral and demilitarized.
In 1995, Finland joined the European Union, a significant step toward deeper integration with Western Europe (Wilson 1998). This move brought economic benefits and increased international cooperation. However, although part of the EU, Åland has re-erected a tax and trade border around the islands, highlighting Åland's autonomy and self-determination.
The relationships of communities, languages, borders, and between local and global, play a role in understanding the identity of these communities. As Anssi Paasi (2001, 7) writes, “Territorial structures and the meanings associated with them have changed dramatically over the course of time, reflecting the perpetual regional transformation of economic, political, administrative and cultural practices and discourses, and inherent relations of power.” The editors of this special issue of the Journal of Finnish Studies gathered a group of scholars from various fields who wanted to explore these issues for the Swedish-speaking minority culture within Finland as we find ourselves at the one hundredth anniversary of Finnish independence, Åland's semi-autonomy, and the confirmation of its demilitarized status.
The first two articles focus on two Swedish-speaking literary authors in Finland. In the article “Carina Karlsson's Märket as ‘Glocal’ Literature,” Susan C. Brantly examines the global and local influences on the Ålandic writer Carina Karlsson. Brantly's point of departure is that the people of Åland have experience in international spaces yet maintain strong local roots. This dichotomy has affected Karlsson's writing on a local story about the witch trials on Åland, which nevertheless incorporates foreign, international elements in the story. In the article “Spiderwebs of Mental Gum Arabic: The Modernist Machines of Elmer Diktonius,” Benjamin Mier-Cruz explores the works of the early twentieth-century Finland Swedish avant-garde writer Elmer Diktonius. Mier-Cruz examines the author's use of language, genres, rhythms, and sounds and by doing so places Diktonius in a both a Swedish and Finnish context.
The following three articles take up issues emanating from political decisions during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and their current complications. In “Ålanders Knowing Finnish: A Necessity or a Threat to Autonomy? The Ålandic Language Debate of 1968,” Ida Scherman explores the status of both the Swedish and Finnish languages on Åland. Scherman looks at what it means for Åland to be a predominantly Swedish-speaking area in a predominantly Finnish-speaking country and the perceived threats to culture resulting from this fact. In the article “The Phenomenon of Using Examples in Conflict/Peace Contexts: The ‘Ålandic Example’ Seen through the Lens of Diffusion,” Susann Simolin explores how, since the 1980s, the Åland Islands have been used as an example of how to accommodate diversity and competing self-determination claims in other contexts. Simolin problematizes this by looking at the unique situation of the Åland Islands and the problems that persist there. In “Åland, the Swedish People's Party, and the European Union: The Beginning of a Complicated Relationship,” Hasan Akintug analyzes the interplay among the demands of representation in the European Union, the reactions of the Swedish People's Party, and the leadership in Åland regarding the European Union membership referendum.
Finally, in “The Irony of ‘Drottningen av Åland’: Politics and Aesthetics in the Changing Landscape of Finland Swedish Popular Music,’” Johannes Brusila and Kim Ramstedt examine how music is used to create social belonging as well as distancing in the politically and technologically changing environment of the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Since the inception of this issue, borders have shifted again as Finland and Sweden become part of NATO. This decision reflects a broader trend of Baltic and Nordic states bolstering their defense ties with Western allies, which will no doubt create further change and a reevaluation of the identity of Swedish-speaking communities within Finland and Åland, particularly as Åland renegotiates and reevaluates its demilitarized status. It is the hope of the editors that this issue will contribute to the interest and relevance of this region and these communities in English-speaking scholarship.
