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Where east met west: Helsinki and the staging of the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2015

TIMO VILÉN
TIMO VILÉN*
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences and Humanities FIN -33014 University of Tampere, Finland
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Abstract:

The final phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in 1975 is widely regarded as the high point of détente. This article discusses the staging and legacy of the CSCE from the perspective of its host city, Helsinki. The article examines how the Finnish initiative to host the conference became enmeshed with Helsinki's municipal politics and how the CSCE's and Finland's neutrality were used by the Helsinki authorities to project an attractive image of their city. The article further highlights the Helsinki Summit as a public spectacle with which a large number of local residents engaged.

Type
Research Article
Information
Urban History , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , November 2015 , pp. 603 - 621
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

1 The recent literature on the CSCE is vast. For a sample, see Snyder, S.B., Human Rights Activism and the End of the Cold War: A Transnational History of the Helsinki Network (Cambridge, 2011)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Wenger, A., Mastny, V. and Nuenlist, C. (eds.), Origins of the European Security System: The Helsinki Process Revisited, 1965–75 (London, 2008)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Villaume, P. and Westad, O. A. (eds.), Perforating the Iron Curtain: European Détente, Transatlantic Relations, and the Cold War, 1965–1985 (Copenhagen, 2010)Google Scholar.

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3 For general accounts of the history of Finland during the Cold War in English, see Meinander, H., History of Finland (New York, 2013)Google Scholar; Kirby, D., A Concise History of Finland (Cambridge, 2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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5 Kirby, A Concise History of Finland, 246.

6 On Finlandization, see e.g. Kirby, A Concise History of Finland, 245–6, 272–5; Vihavainen, T., Kansakunta rähmällään: suomettumisen lyhyt historia (Helsinki, 1991)Google Scholar; Tarkka, J., Karhun kainalossa. Suomen kylmä sota 1947–1990 (Helsinki, 2012)Google Scholar. On Finnish military defence, see e.g. Jakobson, M., Finland in the New Europe (Westport, 1998), 88–90Google Scholar.

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12 http://file.alvaraalto.fi/search.php?id=048 accessed 22 Jan. 2014; www.finlandiatalo.fi/en/architecture/alvar-aalto/finlandia-hall-spaces-and-interior accessed 22 Jan. 2014.

13 Mustonen, P., ’Finlandia-talon kolme vuosikymmentä’, in Holopainen, E.-K., Mustonen, P. and Suhonen, P. (eds), Finlandia-talo, tapahtumia, ihmisiä, musiikkia (Helsinki, 2001), 13–18, 27Google Scholar; Hufvudstadsbladet (Hbl), 24 Apr. 1970; Uusi Suomi (hereafter US), 14 Mar. 1971.

14 Kolbe, ’Helsinki kasvaa suurkaupungiksi’, 172–7.

15 A. Kostiander, ’Koko kansan koti vai kommunistien pesäke? Helsingin Kulttuuritalon rakentaminen ja paikan henki 1955–1959’, University of Helsinki Master's thesis, 2011, 59–67.

16 Kolbe, ’Helsinki kasvaa suurkaupungiksi’, 172–7; US, 10 Oct. 1963.

17 Ibid.; Mustonen, ’Finlandia-talon kolme vuosikymmentä’, 17–18.

18 Bell, M. and Hietala, M., Helsinki. The Innovative City: Historical Perspectives (Helsinki, 2002), 266Google Scholar.

19 Helsingin Osuuskauppa (hereafter HOK), 1 (1970); Hbl, 24 Apr. 1970.

20 T. Aura, cited in Kolbe, ’Helsinki kasvaa suurkaupungiksi’, 362.

21 Kolbe, ’Helsinki kasvaa suurkaupungiksi’, 351, 352; Aura, Sovitellen, 152–3, 171–2.

22 Aura, Sovitellen, 271–2. For a fine account of Finnish–German relations during the Cold War, see Hentilä, S., Neutral zwischen den beiden deutschen Staaten: Finnland und Deutschland im Kalten Krieg (Berlin, 2006)Google Scholar.

23 Jussila, Hentilä and Nevakivi, From Grand Duchy to a Modern State, 312–13. A detailed account of Finland's involvement in the CSCE is Reimaa, M., Helsinki Catch: European Security Accords 1975 (Helsinki, 2008)Google Scholar. See also Jakobson, Finland in the New Europe, 80–3.

24 Hbl, 24. Apr. 1970; Helsingin Sanomat (HS), 31 May 1972; HS, 1 Jun. 1972.

25 Hbl, 17 Jan. 1970; Hbl, 24 Apr. 1970.

26 US, 23 Dec. 1969; HS, 15 Jan. 1970; Hbl, 17 Jan. 1970; US, 16 Jan. 1970.

27 For comparative purposes, see Iris Schröder's discussion on the UNESCO headquarters in Paris: Schröder, I., ‘Der Beton, die Stadt, die Kunst und die Welt: Der Streit um die Pariser UNESCO-Gebäude’, Zeithistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History, 7 (2010), 7–29Google Scholar.

28 HOK, 1 (1970). See also US, 31 May 1970.

29 US, 31 May 1970. On conference tourism to Helsinki, also see US, 15 Sep. 1970; Suomen Sosiaalidemokraatti (SS), 27 Mar. 1971; HS, 28 May 1975.

30 Mustonen, ’Finlandia-talon kolme vuosikymmentä’, 12. See also Kansan Uutiset (hereafter KU), 3 Dec. 1971.

31 The question of Finland's international image was, of course, closely linked to the Finlandization debate. See Tarkka, Uhan alta Unioniin, 176–85.

32 Time, 27 Jul. 1970, vol. 96, issue 4, 1, 21.

33 SS, 15 May 1970; Hbl, 27 May 197; KU, 11 Aug. 1970; HS, 20 Dec. 1970; KU, 16 Oct. 1971; SS, 16 Oct. 1971; SS, 11 Nov. 1971; KU, 12 Dec. 1971.

34 This observation is based on my perusal of the comprehensive newspaper clipping collection at the Helsinki City Archives. On Hufvudstadsbladet, see e.g. Hbl, 13 Dec. 1972; Hbl, 16 Dec. 1972; Hbl, 7 Jun. 1973; Hbl, 21 Nov. 1973; Hbl, 31 Mar. 1974.

35 SS, 4 Apr. 1970; US, 26 Jun. 1970; US, 2 Jul. 1970; Aamulehti, 22 Sep. 1970; HS, 14 Oct. 1970; US, 13 Oct. 1970.

36 For example, Ilta-Sanomat (IS), 5 Jun. 1970; Hbl, 7 Jun. 1970; HS, 7 Aug. 1970; US, 22 Sep. 1970; HS, 23 Sep. 1970; SS, 17 Nov. 1970; SS, 22 Dec. 1970; Mustonen, ’Finlandia-talon kolme vuosikymmentä’, 12–13.

37 KU, 22 Dec. 1970; US, 22 Dec. 1970; Hbl, 8 Jun. 1971; Hbl, 4 Feb. 1972; US, 18 Feb. 1972; Hbl, 18 Feb. 1972; KU, 4 May 1972; Hbl, 5 May 1972; HS, 8 May 1972; HS, 9 May 1972; HS, 1 Jun. 1972; SS, 1 Jun. 1972.

38 KU, 12 Dec. 1971; KU, 15 May 1973; HS, 15 May 1973; HS, 22 May 1973.

39 See HS, 4 Jun. 1973; HS, 18 Oct. 1973; HS, 18 Mar. 1975; HS, 22 Mar. 1975.

40 US, 4 May 1972; Mustonen, ’Finlandia-talon kolme vuosikymmentä’, 30. The final decision was taken in late May 1972. HS, 1 Jun. 1972; IS, 1 Jun. 1972.

41 Cooper, J.F., On the Finland Watch. An American Diplomat in Finland during the Cold War (Claremont, 2000), 314–15Google Scholar; Ehrnrooth, G.C., Krokotiilien keskellä. Muistelmia kylmän sodan vuosikymmeniltä (Espoo, 1999)Google Scholar.

42 Hbl, 23 Dec. 1965; Hbl, 7 Apr. 1968; SS, 12 Apr. 1967.

43 See e.g. Hbl, 13 Dec. 1972; Hbl, 25 Apr. 1973; US, 16 Jan. 1973; International New York Times (INYT), 8 Jul. 1973. See also E.-K. Holapainen, ‘Kongressitalo’, in Holopainen, Mustonen and Suhonen (eds.), Finlandia-talo, tapahtumia, ihmisiä, musiikkia, 99–101.

44 Holopainen, ’Kongressitalo’, 99.

45 For example, Hbl, 22 Jul. 1975; SS, 26 Jul. 1975; KU, 26 Jul. 1975.

46 The total number of police and armed forces involved was estimated at 3,000–5,000. For example, HS, 22 Jul. 1975; HS, 23 Jul. 1975; IS, 23 Jul. 1975; HS, 26 Jul. 1975; HS, 28 Jul. 1975; Time, 4 Aug. 1975, 5, 20, 22.

47 Hbl, 23 Jul. 1975; IS, 24 Jul. 1975. A similar operation had been carried out in 1973 in association with the CSCE's first phase. See HS, 3 Jul. 1973.

48 See e.g. HS, 31 Jul. 1975; HS, 1 Aug. 1975; IS, 29 Jul. 1975; Hbl, 1 Aug. 1975.

49 See e.g. IS, 29 Jul. 1975.

50 See e.g. HS, 22 Jul. 1975; IS, 23 Jul. 1975; IS, 31 Jul. 1975.

51 See e.g. Time, 4 Aug. 1975, 5, 20, 22; INYT, 1 Aug. 1975; IS, 29 Jul. 1975; HS, 31 Jul. 1975; Hbl, 1 Aug. 1975.

52 IS, 8 Aug. 1975. On the relationship between mega-events and security, see Boyle, P. and Haggerty, K.D., ‘Spectacular security: mega-events and the security complex’, International Political Sociology, 3 (2009), 257–74CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

53 Ibid.

54 Time, 4 Aug. 1975, vol. 106, issue 5.

55 Tarkka, Uhan alta Unioniin, 212–16; Suomi, J., Umpeutuva latu: Urho Kekkonen 1976–1981 (Helsinki, 2000), 283–4, 368, 388–90, 398Google Scholar.

56 Hbl, 1 Aug. 1975. See also IS, 2 Aug. 1975. On the construction of Finland's image during the 1952 Olympics and the reception of the Games, see Urponen, M., Yli kaikkien rajojen?: Helsingin olympialaiset ja Armi Kuusela kansainvälisyyden kynnyksellä (Helsinki, 2010)Google Scholar.

57 Leffler, M., For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War (New York, 2007)Google Scholar.

58 For example, INYT, 2 Aug. 1975, 8.

59 Isaac, J. and Bell, D., ‘Introduction’, in Isaac, J. and Bell, D. (eds.), Uncertain Empire: American History and the Idea of the Cold War (Oxford, 2012), 3–4Google Scholar.

60 An impressive recent attempt to make sense of the idea of the Cold War is provided by Isaac and Bell (eds.), Uncertain Empire.

61 My suggestion is inspired by the notion of ‘anti-Cold War social science’ which Mark Solovey has put forward in a different context. Solovey, M., ‘Cold War social science: spectre, reality, or useful concept?’, in Solovey, M. and Cravens, H. (eds.), Cold War Social Science: Knowledge Production, Liberal Democracy, and Human Nature (New York, 2012), 18CrossRefGoogle Scholar.