Finnish Journal of Social Research

It’s the story, stupid! Timo Soini, Jussi Halla-aho and the battle for the story of the Finns Party

2022-09-23T17:23:06+03:00

What role does storytelling play in right-wing populist parties? With a focus on the Finns Party and its leaders Timo Soini (1995–2017) and Jussi Halla-aho (2017–2021), this article depicts the narrative struggle that ensued when the Finns Party joined government in 2015 and exposes the challenges populist storytellers face when engaged in governing coalitions. Whereas Soini argued in favour of joining government and actively participating in broad, consensus-based policymaking, Halla-aho focused on directly challenging government by targeting migration as a key concern for party voters. These tensions culminated in the breakup of the party, where a small faction continued in government until 2019 while the mother party returned to the opposition. A storytelling perspective shows the importance of a credible truth-telling narrative in understanding far-right populist electoral success and demonstrates the challenges government responsibility presents for populist narrative credibility.

Fertility recovery despite the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland?

2022-09-07T08:48:45+03:00

Finland’s increase in births, recorded in the months following the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, was among the strongest. We assess whether this fertility increase occurred because of or despite the pandemic, or both, by investigating the country’s fertility trends by women’s region of residence, age group, and parity. Finland overall was modestly hit by the early pandemic, but Helsinki-Uusimaa faced more severe restrictions. We used aggregate register data until September 2021 to assess monthly fertility. In 2020 and 2021, the relative increases in fertility were strongest among women aged 30 and over. In 2021, but not in 2020, fertility increased most in Helsinki-Uusimaa, and across parities. Model-based estimates suggested a modest fertility boost of the early pandemic. To conclude, Finland’s notable fertility increase in 2021 broadly followed pre-existing trends where the country recovered from its all-time low fertility levels, and the early pandemic may have reinforced this trend.

Life satisfaction and social capital in different age groups in Finland: Data from the European Values Study

2022-09-12T11:22:40+03:00

The aim of the study is to explore age and language group differences in social capital and life satisfaction, and their associated factors, among Finnish and Swedish speakers in Finland. Data were derived from the European Values Study (EVS), and the sample included 2514 individuals aged 18 years and older. Various regression-based methods were used in the analyses. The results indicate that there are significant differences in social capital between Finnish and Swedish speakers but not in life satisfaction. Nevertheless, a positive association between volunteering and life satisfaction was observed for Finnish speakers. The findings corroborate that structural and cognitive social capital are associated with higher life satisfaction and highlight the potential for promoting well-being in younger and older adults through being actively engaged in and feeling connected to a community. Moreover, special attention should be given to young adults who display the lowest levels of life satisfaction and social capital.

The COVID-19 crisis and gender equality in Finland

2022-12-02T21:57:18+02:00

This article assesses the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on gender equality in Finland, based on the findings of a research project funded by the government’s analysis, assessment and research activities. Finland provides an interesting case, as in some respects it could be argued to represent the best-case scenario. The article shows that the employment and social impacts of the crisis were gendered, and that the crisis made visible long-term gender equality problems in the Finnish society. The article suggests that the impacts on gender equality were nevertheless relatively small and short term. The lightness of the restriction measures, high levels of gender equality, and the Finnish welfare state contributed to this outcome, even if the protection provided by these factors was not complete. Despite the Finnish government’s commitment to advancing gender equality, the adopted recovery and support measures were not particularly gender sensitive.

Cross-social scientific conversations on Finnish society

2022-12-27T14:05:39+02:00

Editorial note