In this lectio I argue that our understanding of European security politics and relations with the newly independent states in the 1990s remains in a shade of gray. This inhibits both the creativity, as well as the political possibili­ties we willingly consider in contemporary foreign policy debates. While much focus in the historiography of the 1990s has been on NATO and EU enlargement, histo­rians should consider what parallel, less successful policy initiatives tell us about the collective hopes and disappointments of the era.

This lectio and doctoral dissertation look at one such initiative – peace mediation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The history of Finnish, American, and Russian peace mediation in Nagorno-Karabakh 1995-1997, seen through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, comments on the historiography of the 1990s as well as contemporary policy. It exhibits how the current political moment directs historical scholarship of the recent past, as well as how a lack of diverse research interests inhibits policymaking and policy debate in the present.

Finland as a peace mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict allowed Helsinki to build a Russia expertise for a new era, as well as develop new cooperation with the U.S. There was concern in the international community and Washington D.C. at the time that Finland had yet to overcome ‘ghosts of Finlandization’. Finnish diplomats thus needed to prove that Helsinki could cooperate with Moscow without becoming the stereotypical junior partner. This led Finnish diplomats to gain new experiences in the South Caucasus, as well as in Washington, which both remain of value today.

Parallels can be seen in the Finnish political leadership of the OSCE via the 2025 OSCE Chairpersonship-in-Office. While Finland is currently restructuring its Russia policy as a new NATO member, Ukraine, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus remain significant for Finnish foreign policy. As such, the 2025 OSCE chairpersonship, like the 1995-1997 OSCE Minsk Group, offers unprecedented opportunities for Finnish foreign policy and diplomats to build new expertise as Helsinki repositions itself in a shifting international order.

This lectio and dissertation offer historical examples of how Helsinki utilized multiple institutional tools (EU, OSCE, etc.) to operate in regions such as the South Caucasus, where NATO was agreed to be less effective. This is a point that is highly relevant today, particularly in advocating for multiple institutional tools to maintain support of countries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia as they fortify their sovereignty while living next to Russia.