European unification in Finnish textbooks

Authors

• Pauli Heikkilä Turun yliopisto

Abstract

Textbooks have been important in implementing the national grand narratives but since the 1960s they have dealt more and more with relations between the nation states. This article focuses on representations of European integration in 26 Finnish textbooks 1955–2005 and especially on historical changes on the subject and the Finnish introduction to the European institutions. Besides of the content analysis of the text, attention has been paid to the illustration and the context of the subject. The results of this research reveal a common Finnish line, which has told about the development of the integration stressing the recent events and without major internal disputes. In comparison with the other European textbooks, Finnish textbooks share the limited space devoted to the European integration but on the other hand cast more suspicion to its forthcoming development.