Security, Vagrancy, and Gender in Finland, 1800–1986

Abstract

The aim of this study is to problematize the sharp juxtaposition between historical, state-led security and the more recent, ubiquitous, networked security. We focus on the longue durée perspective of vagrancy in Finland, and more specifically, on the confinement of vagrant women. First, we ask how the experienced need for security is reflected in vagrancy legislation, how security was defined in the same, and what kind of societal background factors influenced these definitions. Second, we ask what the role of local actors was in enforcing vagrancy legislation, that is, how they enforced security as local-level vagrancy control. Third, we ask how security was gendered through the practical outcomes of vagrancy legislation, that is, coercive measures targeted at specific groups of people. Fourth, we circle back to the concept of security and analyse the major changes in its interpretation that occurred in the twentieth century. The article covers changes and continuities in the geographical area of modern Finland during two consecutive forms of government: the Autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland as part of the Russian Empire (1809–1917) and the independent nation state of the Republic of Finland from 1917 (1919).