The Åland Islands Question

Irredentism and Autonomism in the 'Archipelago of Peace

Bibliographic Data

ID4454600
AuthorsDeborah Paci (0000-0001-5735-5089, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume40
Issue85
Pages13-31
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Brasileira de História (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0102-0188 • E-ISSN: 1806-9347
PublisherFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/1806-93472020v40n85-02
OpenAlexW3108803098
SCIELO_PIDS0102-01882020000300013
LanguageEN
References cited13

Lying in the Baltic sea, at the entrance of the Gulf of Bothnia, 70km from the Finnish coast and 36 km from that of Sweden, the archipelago of Åland is an autonomous Finnish province. What distinguishes the archipelago is its Swedish monolingualism, autonomous government recognized by international treaties, and demilitarization. This article proposes some reflections on the concept of sovereignty in Åland in the 20th century particularly on two key elements the island's strategic position and its autonomy. After a historical overview of Åland in the 1800s, emphasizing their strategic relevance in the Baltic, I will focus on the irredentist period, in which emerged secessionist movement that called for the island's anexation to Sweden

Archaeology · Archipelago · Autonomy · Baltic sea · Economics · Economy · Geography · Government (linguistics) · Political science · Politics · Position (finance) · Sovereignty · Arctic and Russian Policy Studies · Cyprus History, Politics, Society · Geology · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law · Oceanography