Population decline, the centralization of services, digitalization, and the rise of remote work have permanently changed how much space a city needs, and what kind of space. Quite simply, there are too many taxpayer-funded square feet. And the problem isn’t even that simple. As buildings sit underused, the already substantial maintenance backlog continues to grow. … Read more
Immigration is one of the defining societal issues of our time. It touches on the economy, labor markets, demographics, security, and values. Precisely because of this, the conversation around it tends to be emotionally charged, but for that same reason, it should also be as clear and honest as possible. Too often, the immigration debate … Read more
In local government, there is one word that tends to surface precisely when a decision feels difficult: reputational harm. When the issue on the table is a multimillion-dollar investment or the zoning of a new development area based on investment promises, the discussion usually begins with numbers. Profitability calculations. Employment effects. Risk assessments. Scenarios. And … Read more
Finland’s rise into the group of countries with the highest unemployment rates in Europe is striking. Even more striking is that this is not the result of a single, sudden crisis, but rather the collision of several long-smoldering structural problems. The economy has stagnated for an extended period, business investment has remained modest, and at … Read more
Historical comparisons have a bad reputation. They’re used too often, too casually, and all too frequently as political weapons with little factual basis or serious analysis behind them. Yet it is precisely through history that we try to understand the dynamics of authoritarianism, the concentration of power, and the erosion of democracy. But is it … Read more
The “rules-based international order” has, since World War II, largely been a story the Western world has told itself: a world in which international rules are respected, sovereignty is honored, and disputes are resolved in institutions rather than on the battlefield. Now that story seems to be breaking down—fast. The extraordinary U.S. military operation in … Read more
The Monroe Doctrine seems to have stepped back out of the history books into the world of the living — now reborn as the Donroe Doctrine. But has a new Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact already been concluded as well — and are we already living with its consequences? History has a habit of repeating itself. The United … Read more
Donald Trump’s second presidential term has made visible what scholars of democracy have long pointed out: systems do not collapse spectacularly overnight. They first begin to weaken in those areas that relied less on legislation and more on people’s self-restraint and shared rules of the game. In the 1800s, U.S. President Andrew Jackson built a … Read more
Right now, several generations live side by side, each with a very different relationship to war and its threat. There are children, teenagers, and adults for whom the Cold War is nothing more than the title of a chapter in a history book, and many no longer have anyone in their close circle who still … Read more
Eloisa’s cost-cutting measures targeting Vaalijala don’t affect only South Savo – they threaten to dismantle a national center of expertise built over decades and shift overall costs, many times larger than the individual regional savings, onto the entire social and healthcare system. Eloisa’s adjustment measures now strike at the heart of Vaalijala. Closing four rehabilitation … Read more