I was born in 1961 in Rovaniemi. Since 1980, I have studied in the University of Helsinki with political science, especially international politics, as my main subject, combined with political history and moral and social philosophy. In 1988 I earned an M.A. in political science; the title of my M.A. thesis was “The Crisis in Lebanon”. In 1995 I earned a Licentiate degree with the thesis “State Constraints for Democratization in Zimbabwe”, and in January 2000 I defended my Doctoral thesis “Voting Without Choosing, State Making and Elections in Zimbabwe.” My opponent was professor Timothy M. Shaw from Dalhousie University.
I have worked at the department of political science since 1988, as a trainee, assistant, researcher, senior assistant and now as a lecturer. I am one of the teachers responsible for Proseminar and Bachelor’s theses. I am also supervising students of the Licentiate degree and the Doctoral degree especially in the field of African studies.
I have been a visiting research associate at the Fernand Braudel Center, State University of New York at Binghamton, and at the Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Zimbabwe. During the autumns 1999, 2000 and 2001 I have been a visiting professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, politieke wetenschappen, in Belgium via the Sokrates exchange programme. As a researcher I have also been affiliated with the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Helsinki.
In 1998 and 1999 I was president of the Finnish Peace Research Association. My academic activities have also included board memberships in the Finnish Political Science Association, Finnish Development Studies Association, Finnish International Studies Association, and the Research Committee on Democratization from a Comparative Perspective, which is part of the International Political Science Association. I was a member of the Commission for the Promotion of the Finnish Literature from 1996 to 1998 and a member of the government-nominated Advisory Board for Relations with Developing Countries from 1995 to 1999.
My research interests include the state, elections, democracy, peace and conflict research, crisis management and development co-operation. I have expertise on the research questions related to ethnic conflicts, promotion of multi-party democracy and human rights, political conditionality, structural adjustment, the Cotonou Agreement and the civilian crisis management capabilities of the European Union.