Origin, Economics and Political Governance in Finland - Research Paper Example

 Finland Finland is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of the area and with terrain characterised by low, flat plains that are interspersed with lakes and low hills, and is estimated to have a population of 5.4 million people with most habitation concentrating in the southern region. It is believed that the earliest Finns arrived in 7000BC and were hunters and gatherers, which over time, they lived by farming and made tools and weapons from bronze. These settlers had little or no contact with other civilisations such as Greece and Rome. Finland has a rich history of colonisation and civil war; however, upon gaining its independence in 1917 the country experienced a drastic industrialization and social shifts process under a parliamentary democracy and recently as a member of the EU. The arrival of Christian missionaries marked the beginning of colonisation where Finland became a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th century. However, Sweden lost its position in Finland following pressure from Russia in their war between 1808and 1809. As a grand duchy of Russia, the senate was the highest governing body and matters pertaining to the administration were handled by directly by the emperor in St Petersburg; thus, Russian authorities could not interfere. Mutiny among the Russian troops spread to the Helsinki fleets during the Russian revolution, which resulted in intensified calls for independence with a general strike called by workers, culminating to a civil war. The divisions in a society that resulted from the conflict have been dire to the extent of hostility based on views and ideologies by the citizens. Finland won its full independence in 1917, but was unable to protect its freedom during the Second World War and was experienced invasion from the Soviet Union (Barton 231). Finnish political governance is guided a by the constitution, which came into force the year 2000 and amended in 2012. The amendment saw the prime minister become the most powerful politician and the president reduced to a ceremonial and non-executive position: moreover, the president is the head of state and is elected for a period of six years (“Political and demographical description”). The political system in Finland is based on parliamentary democracy where citizens can participate in the election of parliamentary, municipal and presidential candidates. Parliament is elected for a term of four years; this is in line with vesting power to the people. The parliament is unicameral, charged with the role of exercising supreme legislative authority such as enacting the Finnish law, ratifying international treaties, and provides oversight of government activities. The government consist of the prime minister, who is elected by parliament, and the ministers, appointed by the president; moreover, the government is the decision-making organ for governmental and administrative matters such as policies affecting its citizens. Finland is a member of the European Union, and as such, the country is obliged to maintain laid down structures and policies as the EU guidelines. The guidelines aim at promoting the financial, political and social welfare of member states; therefore, within the government various ministries address social affairs aimed at improving the welfare of citizens. Issues affecting the society such as alcoholism and violence are addressed by policies and initiatives by the government. The policies are formulated by considering feedback from the municipalities about the emerging cultural and social issues. Finland has a highly industrialised economy with a per capita output similar to that of neighbouring countries: moreover, the service sector is considered the largest followed by manufacturing. The manufacturing is a key sector to economic prosperity of Finland, which characterised by industries specialising in electronics, machinery, engineering, vehicle production, and chemicals. Electronic industries play a crucial role in the economy with regard to foreign trade, which is an important sector of the economy with exports accounting for over one third of GDP in recent years. Trade flows have been reported to be consistent in countries such as Germany, Russian, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, and china. Finland’s climate and soils pose a challenge to agriculture where severe winters and short growing seasons are characteristic (Singleton 4). Consequently, forestry has proved to be of key importance to the economy, which when harvested provide raw materials at competitive prices to processing industries. Finland is considered one of the leading wood producing countries in the world, as such; the government regulates the industry and provides technical support to stakeholders. The rate of unemployment is relatively low with unemployment security benefits offered to those seeking jobs with considerable levels of training. Finland’s literacy rate has been demonstrated as high, which is vital to every economy. Coupled with high literacy rates and a vast economic drive, Finland is considered a developed country. The main ethnic group is Finn with numerous minority groups such as Sweden, Russian, and Estonian among others. Consequently, the official language in Finland is Finnish with the minority speaking Swedish and Russian (Lavery 4).The country has a population of about 5 million people who are mainly concentrated to the southern region of the country, among the citizens, 65% of the population is aged between 15-64 years and 18% for those aged above 65 years. The country has life expectancy of about 80 years and a death rate of 10 per 1000 in the population. As illustrated earlier, the country enjoys a relatively high literacy level among its citizens, with compulsory education between the ages of 7 and 16. Graduates can then get to higher learning institutions or enter into the labour force, among the professional trades, science-related fields have received adequate consideration where a significant number of graduates specialise in various aspect of science. The country is home to renowned information innovations such as software engineering and a significant proportion of the population use the internet. In Finland, the rate of incarceration is relatively low with an average age of 35 years. However, the number of prisoners is seen to increase over time as the average length of sentencing is 7 to 8 months. Majority of crimes committed are described to be under the influence of alcohol, and in recent years, the number of drunken offenders has been on the rise. Crimes involving alcohol use range from theft to homicides. Alcohol consumption is regarded as a key contributor to premature deaths in the society, with an estimated 4% of the total disease burden in the world. This is especially so since alcohol harms the body when not taken with moderation. In addition, alcohol is known to impair judgment, which leads to crimes associated alcohol influence. Alcohol consumption has adverse effects to his/her life depending on an individual’s drinking patterns (WHO 21). Underlying social disparity issues such as unemployment, strenuous job activities, and disputes are known to trigger alcohol abuse, which escalate the social problems. At the height of alcohol, consumption commission of crimes may be inevitable, resulting in arrest. Counting this, there are indirect cost are incurred, which may be felt at a national level in terms of lost productivity, increased crime rates, and moral degradation. As professionals, biologist should strive to moderate their alcohol use if any. Finland is known to have clean record of accomplishment with regard to performance across all economic sectors. It is for this reason that the government should establish policies that address issues concerning biologist, which may result to alcoholism and related crimes. In the same manner, biologists establish forums through which they deal with strenuous effects related to their jobs, this works to reduce the high rates of homicides in Finland. Works Cited WHO. Who Expert Committee on Problems Related to Alcohol Consumption. 2007. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/expert_committee_alcohol_trs944.pdf Barton, Arnold. “Finland and Norway, 1808–1917: A comparative perspective”. Scandinavian Journal of History Vol. 31, No. 3/4. September 2006, pp. 221–236. Lavery, Jason. The History of Finland. Cambridge, England. Cambridge University Press 2006. Print. Singleton, Fred. A Short History of Finland. Cambridge, England. Cambridge University Press. 1998. Print. “Political and demographical description”. Finland. n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. http://www.euphoric-project.eu/repository/Finland.pdf Read More