The Lawfare Podcast: Finnish and Swedish Perspectives on NATO Membership

Jen Patja, David Priess, Emanuel Örtengren, Minna Ålander, Henri Vanhanen
Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 12:00 PM
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Finland and Sweden have made the historic choice to apply to NATO, but there's a lot of misunderstanding out there about the context for these decisions. To talk through it all, David Priess sat down with Emanuel Örtengren, the acting director of the Stockholm Free World Forum, a Swedish foreign and security policy think tank; Minna Ålander from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, where she focuses on northern Europe and Nordic security; and Henri Vanhanen, a foreign policy advisor to Finland’s center-right National Coalition Party. They discussed the history of Finnish and Swedish nonalignment, the shift in public and government opinion toward NATO in recent months, and both countries’ processes for applying to the alliance.

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Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
David Priess

David Priess

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David Priess is Director of Intelligence at Bedrock Learning, Inc. and a Senior Fellow at the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security. He served during the Clinton and Bush 43 administrations as a CIA officer and has written two books: “The President’s Book of Secrets,” about the top-secret President’s Daily Brief, and "How To Get Rid of a President," describing the ways American presidents have left office.
Emanuel Örtengren

Emanuel Örtengren

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Emanuel Örtengren is the acting director of the Stockholm Free World Forum, a Swedish foreign and security policy think tank.
Minna Ålander

Minna Ålander

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Minna Ålander is research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) in Helsinki. Her research topics are German and Finnish foreign and security policy, Northern European security and Nordic defence cooperation. Previously, she worked at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.
Henri Vanhanen

Henri Vanhanen

HenriVanhanen
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Henri Vanhanen is a Research Fellow in the Finnish Institute for International Affairs. He has previously worked as a foreign policy advisor for the National Coalition Party, in the Parliament of Finland, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Parliament, and the US Embassy in Helsinki.

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