In Finland of the 1930s, the conservatives were often disappointed
with parliamentary democracy after the heritage of the Civil War of 1918
and because of the threat of communism and the Soviet Union. In 1930
Finland faced ananti-communist populist uprising, and the conservatives
eagerly championed its cause. However, they began to have doubts when
the movement started to show fascist features. In the end, they fought
against it.

I ask what was the relationship between conservatism
and fascism in Finland? Was the Finnish case unique or just comparable
to other European countries? I answer these questions by using
critically first-hand sources, bearing in mind the wide international
research on fascism.The emphasis is on the sources of the conservatives.

I
argue that the right wing radicalism proved a disappointment to the
conservatives. Instead of becoming an easily controlled junior partner
the movement became a political party with leanings towards fascism that
challenged the conservative National Coalition Party. The conservatives
stuck to their traditional policies, to a conservative ideology and to
British and Scandinavian democracy, and became the first bulwark against
right wing radicalism in Finland – an essential if somewhat grudging
co-belligerent in the defence of democracy.