yleisilmiön

yleisilmiö (genitive: yleisilmiön) is a Finnish noun meaning a general phenomenon or a macro-scale phenomenon. It combines yleinen ('general') and ilmiö ('phenomenon'). The term is commonly used in academic and policy discussions to refer to patterns that appear across multiple cases, over time, or at a large scale.

A yleisilmiö describes a broad tendency rather than a single event. It is invoked when researchers want to summarize complex reality by focusing on overarching trends rather than specific instances. The concept helps frame analyses that cut across individual cases to identify common directions or impacts.

Common examples discussed as yleisilöitä include climate change as a global environmental and economic driver; urbanization of populations; digitalization and automation of work; and globalization of trade and culture. In each case, the goal is to describe a pervasive pattern rather than a discrete incident.

Analytical approaches to studying yleisilmiöitä include longitudinal data analysis, meta-analyses, and cross-national comparisons. Critics caution that emphasizing a yleisilmiö can obscure regional variation and local factors, or oversimplify complex dynamics.

See also macro-level analysis, generalization, phenomenon.