Åland Islands: lessons for the conflict of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas Islands)?

Abstract

Falkland Islands (Malvinas Islands) are not on the agenda of the Mauricio Macri´s government (2015–2019) and were, on the contrary, a key issue during the governments of Néstor Kirchner (2003–2007) and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007–2015). However, it can be argued that the conflict over sovereignty between Argentina and Great Britain has not been a priority of the governmental agenda since the end of the Malvinas War (1982). This means that Argentina’s foreign policy has lacked creativity and realism with respect to the conflict and has chosen to continue making formal presentations within the framework of the United Nations so as not to affect commercial interests in the relationship between the two countries; or to carry out theatrical unilateral measures to use the conflict to obtain votes in internal political dynamics, manipulating to Argentine nationalist feelings. Firstly, the present article analyzes the main historical and strategic aspects of the conflict around the Malvinas Islands. Subsequently, the resolution of the dispute between Sweden and Finland over the sovereignty of the Åland Islands is reviewed. Finally, there are some reflections on what could be a third way for Argentina’s foreign policy belong to this problem.