From allies to opponents. Conservatives facing fascism in Finland in the 1930s

Abstract

In Finland of the 1930s, the conservatives were often disappointed with parliamentary democracy after the heritage of the Civil War of 1918 and because of the threat of communism and the Soviet Union. In 1930 Finland faced an anti-communist populist uprising, and the conservatives eagerly championed its cause. However, they began to have doubts when the movement started to show fascist features. In the end, they fought against it. What was the relationship between conservatism and fascism in Finland? Was the Finnish case unique or just comparable to other European countries? I answer these questions by using critically first-hand sources, bearing in mind the wide international research on fascism. The emphasis is on the sources of the conservatives. I argue that the right wing radicalism proved a disappointment to the conservatives. Instead of becoming an easily controlled junior partner the movement became a political party with leanings towards fascism that challenged the conservative National Coalition Party. The conservatives stuck to their traditional policies, to a conservative ideology and to British and Scandinavian democracy, and became the first bulwark against right wing radicalism in Finland–an essential if somewhat grudging co-belligerent in the defence of democracy.