noun
(also British Finlandisation)
mass nounThe process whereby a country is induced to favour, or refrain from opposing, the interests of a more powerful country, despite not being politically allied to it (originally with reference to the influence of the former Soviet Union on its neighbour Finland)
‘I can't see how a major economy would accept such Finlandization of their trade policy’- ‘By 1981, the Soviets were rushing toward what some characterized as the ‘Finlandization’ of Western Europe.’
- ‘‘The maximum task [for the future],’ he underscores, ‘is the ‘Finlandization’ of all of Europe.’’
- ‘The generation over 65 remembered a time before ‘Finlandization’ and the 1939-40 and 1941-4 wars against the USSR.’
- ‘This group originally doubted the goals of Willy Brandt's statecraft and later deplored any lessening of tension with the Warsaw Pact - which, in their view, could only lead to the ‘Finlandization ‘of Western Europe.’’
- ‘Taiwan's ‘Finlandization’ has gone too far as it is.’
Origin
1960s translation of German Finnlandisierung, referring to the situation of Finland after 1944.
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