Introduction

The Military Sociological Society of Finland (MISSOF) is an independent scientific association bringing together researchers and enthusiasts who are interested in questions of military, society and human behaviour. The society aims to support Finnish fundamental and applied research in military sociology. The society defines military sociology as a multidisciplinary humanistic social science that involves studying not only inter-military functions but also civil-military relations and relations between all security-related actors in society. Part of its task is to establish contacts between domestic and international researchers and help their work to flourish.

In the Second World War a young Finnish sociologist called Knut Pipping served as a sergeant in a fighting unit and gathered empirical material systematically both during and after the Finnish wars. His work entitled Infantry Company as a Society was presented in Swedish as a doctoral dissertation at Åbo Academy in 1947. This was two years before the publication of The American Soldier, an academic masterpiece that has been considered to represent the beginning of empirical studies in military sociology. Thus, Finnish military sociology had a very early start, but unluckily behind the Anglo-Saxon language barrier.

To revitalize the Finnish field of military sociology, General Jaakko Valtanen, former Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, accepted an initiative proposed by young officers to establish and chair the Finnish Military Sociological Society in 1994. Now 20 years old society has translated Knut Pipping’s early work into English and published several papers together with the Department of Behavioral Sciences of the Finnish National Defence University. Finnish traditional conscription system combined with up-to-date military technology is an interesting case to anybody interested in military sociology.