THE 8th NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE FINNISH INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION (FISA)
24 – 25 January 2025
Hotel Scandic Valtionhotelli in Imatra
PROGRAMME
Friday 24 January 2025
9:15 Departure from Helsinki by bus
Bus stop in front of Kiasma, Mannerheiminaukio 2
12:30 Arrival and check in
13:00 – 14:00 Light lunch
14:00 – 15:00 Imatra/Koski-sali, Valtionhotelli
Opening of the Conference by Ville Sinkkonen (FISA Chairperson)
Keynote I: Sonia Lucarelli (University of Bologna)
15:15 – 16:45 Panel slot I
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- Alliances in international politics
Koski-sali
Chair: Iro Särkkä (FIIA)
Andris Banka (University of Greifswald): Asmus strategic vision makes a comeback: Finnish-Swedish role in defending the Baltics
Bart Gaens (FIIA) Japan’s “strategic partnership diplomacy”: Going beyond the US alliance
Albert Weckman (Åbo Akademi University):Wartime Solidarity and Emotional Bonds: Public Support for Military Aid to NATO Allies Under Attack
Francesco Strazzari (Scuola Universitaria Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa): When neighbours misalign: European borders as a problem of international order
Matti Pesu (FIIA) & Ville Sinkkonen (FIIA): Trapped between Asymmetries: Finland’s Security Strategies in the Past, Present and Future
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2. Border crisis and instrumentalisation of migration
Vuoksen Helmi
Chair: Stephen Phillips (Åbo Akademi University)
Matti Välimäki (University of Helsinki): Finnish Eastern Border Non-Entry Regime: Form Cold War to Europeanization
Stephen Phillips (Åbo Akademi): The Decaying Trust in International Law at Europe’s Eastern Border
Pekka Pohjankoski (University of Turku): Closing the Border as Solution? Border Closures in Finnish-European Constitutional Law
Mehrnoosh Farzamfar (University of Turku) & Jaana Palander (Migration Institute of Finland): Border Crisis as a Crisis of Law: National Security & Mobility Rights at the Eastern Border of Finland
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3. Challenges and challengers to the rules-based international order
Diplomaatti (Linna)
Chair: Veera Laine (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland)
Eetu Vento (University of Helsinki): The decreasing legitimacy of NGOs in the world society: An analysis of the NGO related discourse in the United Nation General Debates 1992-2019.
Antti Seppo (Finnish National Defence University): No more Kantian dreams? Germany’s vision for world order in the era of Zeitenwende
Maria Lindén (Tampere University): Electoral Manipulation in the United States’ 2024 Presidential Elections
Liisa Laakso (Nordic Africa Institute): South Africa: Global bridge-builder that does not want to sit on the fence
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4. Roundtable: Beyond borders: cross disciplinary perspectives on global development studies and international relations
Lukusali (Linna)
Chair: Tiina Seppälä (University of Helsinki)
Bonn Juego (University of Jyväskylä)
Gutu Wayessa (University of Helsinki)
Markus Kröger (University of Helsinki)
Henri Onodera (University of Helsinki)
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5. Environment in international politics
Linnaklubi, Linnan kellari, ryhmätyötila 1
Chair: Katariina Mustasilta (FIIA)
Monica Tennberg (University of Lapland): Revisiting the concept of environmental security from a “more-than-human” perspective
Emma Hakala (FIIA): Security in the time of ecological crisis: New conceptualisations
Karoliina Hurri (FIIA & University of Lapland) & Sanna Kopra (University of Lapland): What limits our ability to think otherwise? Imaginative green radicalism in International Relations
Helmi Räisänen (FIIA): Supply chain imaginaries of the green transition: Resource governance in the Finnish battery cluster
Carl Johannes Muth (Tampere University): Securitization vs SDG: EU’s Support for Lithium Mining in Serbia and Portugal
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6. Strategic Studies (I)
Linnaklubi, Linnan kellari, ryhmätyötila 2
Chair: Tommi Koivula (Finnish National Defence University)
Heljä Ossa (LSE): Deterrence through resilience and civil preparedness: The comprehensive and militarised models of civil defence
Wanda Wallgren (Finnish National Defence University): Evaluating Data Analytics in International Strategy: China-Russia Cooperation in the Nordic and Arctic Regions
Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defence University) & Juha Kukkola (Finnish National Defence University): An Eurasian Paradigm of Intelligent Warfare? – How China and Russia Perceive AI’s Impact on Military Power
Janne Malkki (Finnish National Defence University): Sodankäynti ja avaruus: strategisen avaruustoiminnan tulevaisuudennäkymiä
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7. Roundtable: Ennakointia – ajankohtaisia näkökulmia ja keskustelua (Yhteistyössä puolustusministeriön kanssa)
Imatra-sali
Chair: Terhi Ylitalo (Ministry of Defence of Finland)
Liisa Kauppila (FIIA)
Jaana Tapanainen-Thiess (The Prime Minister’s Office of Finland)
Kaisa Oksanen (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland)
Olli Aro (Finnish Defence Forces)
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8. Language and meaning in international politics
Kiltasali (Linna)
Chair: Johanna Vuorelma (University of Helsinki)
Marjaana Rautalin (University of Helsinki): Intergovernmental organizations as carriers of world cultural norms: Analysis of discursive change in the annual reporting of three organizations
Niki Sopanen (University of Helsinki): “Rotten with rejuvenation: toward the purification of conspiracy” – A Burkean inquiry into Xi Jinping thought, with conspiratorial characteristics
Teemu Rantanen & Juha Vuori (University of Turku): Role-Playing Games and World Politics: Setting the Agenda for Research
Hanna-Mari Kivistö (University of Jyväskylä): The Council of Europe and the Politics and Language of Human Rights
Yelyzaveta Glybchenko (Tampere University): Unfuturing peace: augmented reality image design for Guerrilla peacebuilding
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9. Nordic Civil-Military Research (NCMR) Network I
Suvanto (Puistohotellin aulassa)
Chair: Juha Vuori (University of Turku)
Discussant: Malena Britz (Swedish Defence University)
Holger Mölder (Tallinn University of Technology)
Ignas Kalpokas (Vytautas Magnus University)
Vladimir Sazonov (Estonian Military Academy / University of Tartu)
Samuli Lahtinen (Tampere University)
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10. Borders old and new I
Keisari-sali (Linna)
Chair: Minna Jokela (The Finnish Border Guard)
Benita Heiskanen (University of Turku): The Political Borders of US Abortion Geographies
Jyrki Kallio (FIIA): The borders of the borderless: Chinese Tianxia in myth and reality, past and present
Samuel Siljanen (The Finnish Border Guard) Instrumentalized Migration at Finland’s Eastern Border: Shifting Border Security Discourses during the 2015–2016 and 2023–2024 Migratory Flows
Armenak Tokmajyan (Carnegie Middle East Center/ Tampere University) & Kheder Khaddour (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace): Borders Without a Nation: Syria, Outside Powers, and Open-Ended Instability
Johni Korwa (University of Southampton): Understanding the development of the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea within the context of international politics in the Global South
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16:45 – 17:15 Coffee break
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17:15 – 17:30 Greeting from the Imatra City Manager Matias Hilden
Imatra/Koski-sali
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17.30- 18.30 Keynote II: Ayşe Zarakol (University of Cambridge)
Imatra/Koski-sali
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18:30 – 20:00 Sauna & free time
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20:00 Dinner
Imatra/Koski-sali
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SATURDAY 25 January 2025
7:30 – 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30 Panel slot II
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11. EU values and contestation
Imatra-sali
Chair: Hanna Tuominen (University of Helsinki): The EU’s role in the protection of Women Human Rights Defenders
Matti Pihlajamaa (University of Helsinki): Self-ID as a Threat? Transnational contestation of trans rights in Finland
Saila Heinikoski (FIIA): Human rights, sovereignty, security – How to conceptualise the instrumentalisation of migration at the Finnish border?
Heino Nyyssönen (University of Turku): Citizenship and voting rights beyond borders
Annastiina Kallius (University of Helsinki): Eliminating Trade Obstacles: An Illiberal Outlook on the EU’s Future
Olga Kantokoski (University of Helsinki): Europeanization or Mimesis? The Punitive Legacies in the Contemporary Prison Practice of the Western Balkan Countries
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12. Shifting borders and boundaries in the ethos of international crisis management
Diplomaatti (Linna)
Chair: Jyrki Ruohomäki (CMC Finland)
Discussant: Katariina Mustasilta (FIIA)
Johanna Hakanen (CMC Finland): Role and relevance – An analysis of EUBAM Moldova & Ukraine
Ville Savoranta (EEAS): EU Civilian CSDP as policy failure
Katariina Mustasilta & Tyyne Karjalainen (FIIA): European strategic cultures in flux? Case study on the European Peace Facility
Tanja Tamminen (EU4Dialogue Project): Contested institutional borders around EU’s soft power: debates around confidence building and the integrated approach
Arto Tissari Internal-external security effects of imaginary transboundary CSDP operation in Finland
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13. Nordic Civil-Military Research (NCMR) Network II
Suvanto (Puistohotellin aulassa)
Chair: Juha Vuori (University of Turku)
Discussant: Alexander Fotescu (Helmut Schmidt University)
Francesca Consolaro (Reichman University)
Pami Aalto (Tampere University)
Volodymyr Honchar (NGU, Ukraine)
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14. Geoeconomics and the evolving international political economy
Kiltasali (Linna)
Chair: Mikael Wigell (FIIA)
Hannamiina Tanninen (Finnish National Defence University): Taloustiedustelumetodien hyödyntäminen huoltovarmuuden arvioinnissa poikkeustilanteessa
Tomi Kristeri (Tampere University): Power-Dependence and Geoeconomics: Conceptualizing EU Economic Security Policy
Jarkko Hietala (Tampere University): Status Competition and the Distribution of Foreign Aid: A Case Study of the Conflict in Ukraine
Marco Siddi & Kristiina Silvan (FIIA): Nuclear energy and international relations: the external strategy of Russia’s Rosatom
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15. Kognitiivinen turvallisuus kansainvälisenä ilmiönä
Linnaklubi, Linnan kellari, ryhmätyötila 1
Chair: Teemu Häkkinen (University of Jyväskylä)
Dominic Saari (University of Jyväskylä): Psykologisista operaatioista kognitiiviseen sodankäyntiin – Yhdysvaltojen ja Naton pehmeän ja terävän vaikuttamisen historiallinen kehitys
Mira Ruokolainen (University of Helsinki)& Santeri Kytöneva (University of Helsinki): Vanhaa ja uutta Venäjän mentaalisessa sodassa – uskonnon ja harhauttamisen rooli hyökkäyssodan aikana
Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defence University): Diskurssivallasta kognitiiviseen sodankäyntiin – Kiinalaisen informaatiovaikuttamisen älylliset juuret ja uusimmat virtaukset
Katja Creutz (FIIA): Informaatiovaikuttamisesta informaatiosodankäyntiin: kansainvälisen sääntelyn tila
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16. The European Union
Keisari-sali (Linna)
Chair: Niklas Helwig (FIIA)
Manuel Müller (FIIA): Still no transnational democratic equality: Distorting effects of degressive proportionality and differential turnout in the 2024 European election
Laura Nordström (University of Helsinki): Legitimacy of Finnish EU decision-making in crisis
Niklas Helwig (FIIA) & Tuomas Iso-Markku (FIIA): The EU’s fragmented defence governance: Different rationales, different logics
Aino Hakovirta (Tampere University): Pressures for Change? EU Enlargement Policy Code in the 2020s
Ryhor Nizhnikau (FIIA): The war and the EU integration: institution-building in the Eastern neighbourhood
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17. Strategic Studies II
Koski-sali
Chair: Tommi Koivula (Finnish National Defence University)
Aleksanteri Selinheimo (Finnish National Defense University): Dragon, Bear or the lesser evils? – Significance of China in interservice competition for resources among United States armed forces
Eoin McNamara (FIIA): The Risk Society and War: From Afghanistan to Ukraine
Pallavi Pal (Tampere University): India-Russia nuclear energy cooperation: Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant 1 & 2
Mikael Mattlin (FIIA): Shifting Perceptions of China in Europe: Assumptions, Conflations, Evaluations, Abilities and Agency
Yue Wang (Tampere University): Securitizing requests in authoritarian regimes: A study on Arctic militarization in China’s traditional national security
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18. Theories of the international
Lukusali (Linna)
Chair: Henri Vogt (University of Turku)
Shalabh Chopra (University of Canterbury): Introducing Christopher Bollas to Ontological Security Theory
Milla Vaha (University of the South Pacific): The last remnants of Fischmenschen? Investigating the Ocean State through Schmitt
Eerik Kivilahti (University of Jyväskylä): Kansainvälinen anarkia maailmanpolitiikan teoriassa
Elina Eloranta (University of Tampere): Exploring security production beyond sectors
Aapo Jumppanen (University of Helsinki): The Pandas of Ähtäri – What happens when neo-endogenous development policy meets world politics in the Finnish countryside?
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19. Foreign Policy
Vuoksen Helmi
Chair: Tuomas Forsberg (Tampere University)
Anna Moraczewska (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University) and Damian Szacawa (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University / Institute of Central Europe): From Sustainable Development to Unsustainable Securitization: Analyzing Policy Dynamics at the Polish-Belarusian Border’
Juhana Aunesluoma (University of Helsinki): Security imaginaries and boundaries in the Baltic Sea Region from the Second World War to the Post-Cold War era
Lina Klymenko (University of Helsinki): The Language of War: Historical Analogies in Ukraine’s Resistance to the Russian Aggression
Federica Prandin (FIIA): A New Cultural Project for Europe: Unveiling Identity Narratives in the EU’s Evolving Climate Change Discourses
Marzia Cimmino (Finnish National Defence University): Bridging Diplomacy and Early Warning: The OSCE’s Role in Donbas
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10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
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11:00 – 12:30 Panel slot III
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20. Borders old and new II
Imatra-sali
Chair: Minna Jokela (The Finnish Border Guard)
Mika Hyytiäinen (Finnish National Defence University): Tekoälyllä tuotetut kartat kognitiivisessa sodankäynnissä
Mika Suonpää (University of Turku): Etsivä keskuspoliisi rajavalvonnan ideoijana ja toteuttajana 1919–1936
Aleksi Kivimaa (Tampere University): Hearts and Minds: Cognitive safety and security
Albert Weckman (Åbo Akademi University): Citizens’ Preferences for Security Policies and Threats: Evidence from Conjoint Survey Experiment
Julia Bethwaite (Tampere University): Venäjän rajoja ylittävä paradiplomatia Suomessa
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21. Changing Strategic Cultures in Europe: Implications for policy and practice
Vuoksen Helmi
Chair: Niklas Helwig (FIIA)
Discussant: Matti Puranen (Finnish National Defence University)
Tommi Koivula (Finnish National Defence University) & Antti Seppo (Finnish National Defence University): A pan-European Manual on Strategic Culture
Katariina Mustasilta (FIIA): Responding to crises, for what now? EU crisis management operations in the era of strategic competition
Niklas Helwig (FIIA) & Antti Seppo (Finnish National Defence University): The German National Security Strategy in the European context: a strategic cultural analysis
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22. The intenational politics of a resilient and just energy transition
Linnaklubi, Linnan kellari, ryhmätyötila 1
Chair: Marco Siddi (FIIA)
Discussant: Federica Prandin (FIIA)
Pami Aalto & Sarah Kilpeläinen (Tampere University): Hydrogen Geopolitics in the Anthropocene
Cordelia Buchanan Ponczek & Marco Siddi (FIIA): Energy justice through policy: A
comparison of US and EU approaches
Minna Hanhijärvi (Tampere University): Enhancing security of critical infrastructures in the
green electrification: A systemic review
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23. International law and International Relations
Kiltasali (Linna)
Chair: Katja Creutz (FIIA)
Maisa Borg (Tampere University): A Tale of Two Vaccines: multimodal analysis of the WHO’s online COVID-19 vaccine communications
Jouni Honkala (Åbo Akademi University): Do “we” have to accept that Unmanned warships and Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS) have equal Rights of Navigation as manned warships
Anna Claydon (Tampere University): Non-state actors in black carbon governance: turning scientific findings into actionable governance initiatives
Saila Heinikoski (FIIA) & Tatu Hyttinen (University of Turku): European integration in criminal law and its implications for the rule of law
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24. International Relations in Central Asia
Linnaklubi, Linnan kellari, ryhmätyötila 2
Chair: Veera Laine (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland)
Kristiina Silvan (FIIA):Please mind the personalism: The foreign policy of Central Asia’s small states reconsidered
Sirke Mäkinen (University of Helsinki): Kazakhstan’s role in global knowledge production – Views from the Kazakhstani academia
Nurkhat Ibadildin (Tampere University): Decision Making of Business Actors in Kazakhstan Impacted by Sanctions Imposed on Russia
Anni Kangas (Tampere University): Central Asian Critical Raw Materials and Just Resource Imaginaries
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25. Roundtable: Suomi EU:ssa ja Etyjissä – miten tukea sotien jälkeisten yhteiskuntien haasteissa?
Lukusali (Linna)
Chair: Tanja Tamminen (EU4Dialogue Project)
Jukka Pesu (University of Turku): Eurooppalainen yhteistyöhön perustuva turvallisuusarkkitehtuuri
Maria Mekri (SaferGlobe): Etyj, EU ja Euroopan uudet turvallisuusrakenteet
Hanna Ojanen (Tampere University): Tehtävien jako kansainvälisten järjestöjen välisissä suhteissa
Johanna Rainio-Niemi (University of Helsinki): Kriisiaikojen politiikkaa ja kriisistä
irtautumisen haasteet
Marko Lehti (Tampere Peace Research Institute):Etyj huomenna: minkälaista monenkeskistä organisaatiota laajempi Eurooppa tarvitsee?
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26. Ulkopolitiikka
Keisari-sali (Linna)
Chair: Tuomas Forsberg (Tampere University)
Marjo Uutela (University of Helsinki): From East to West. Instrumentalizing a history of Finnish Europeanness, 1990–1995
Anna Kronlund (University of Turku): Konsensus kiistanalaisena käsitteenä
Teemu Häkkinen (University of Jyväskylä): Rationaalisesti ja informoituna Natoon vuonna 2022? Eduskunnan päätöksentekoprosessi tarkastelussa
Henri Vogt (University of Turku) & Ville Sinkkonen (FIIA): ‘Utopian’ foreign policy in the age of crisis
Juha-Matti Ritvanen (University of Turku): Yhteistyötä ja patoamista – Suomen Venäjän politiikka 1992–1999
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27. Political violence, extremism and terrorism
Koski-sali
Chair: Leena Malkki (University of Helsinki)
Harry Lehtolaakso (University of Helsinki): Fighting against the inevitable: power and resistance in the Islamic State’s public executions
Leena Malkki (University of Helsinki): Coming in terms with the t-word: How to deal with “terrorism” in academic research
Yevhen Minko (University of Jyväskylä): You Are Starting to Realise’: Media Instrumentalisation of Antisemitic Tropes During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Tommi Kotonen (University of Jyväskylä): Collective action frames in the Finnish Terrorgram – analyzing militant far-right accelerationism
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28. Feminist thinking on militarism
Diplomaatti (Linna)
Chair: Saara Särmä (Tampere University)
Noora Kotilainen (University of Helsinki): Militarization and the media in NATO-Finland
Susanna Jussila (University of Jyväskylä): Body as a site of meaning and world making – Crossing old and new disciplinary borders
Louise Ridden (Tampere University): ‘What if / Think again’: Curating Affective Militarism in Sweden
Minna Lyytikäinen (University of Helsinki) & Leena Vastapuu (Swedish Defence University): Nato-Suomi ja kadonnut Naiset, rauha ja turvallisuus –agenda
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12:30 – 13:30 Lunch break
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13:30 – 14:30 Plenary session: Borders – Old and New (sponsored by the Nordic Review of International Studies, organised with the Centre for European Studies, University of Helsinki)
Imatra/Koski-sali
Chairs: Johanna Vuorelma and Leena Malkki (Centre for European Studies, University of Helsinki)
Jussi Laine (University of Eastern Finland)
Annastiina Kallius (University of Helsinki)
Saila Heinikoski (FIIA)
Miika Tervonen (University of Helsinki)
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14:30 – 15:00 Coffee break
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15:00 – 16:00 Plenary session: Europe’s future choices in a world of strategic competition (sponsored by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland)
Imatra/Koski-sali
Chair: Veera Laine (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland)
Hiski Haukkala (FIIA)
Liisa Laakso (Nordic Africa Institute)
Niklas Helwig (FIIA)
Tapio Rantanen (Prime Minister’s Office)
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Closing remarks by Ville Sinkkonen (FISA Chairperson)
16:30 Departure to Helsinki by bus
17:09 – 19:45 Optional connection: Train from Imatra to Helsinki
(timetable changes possible)