Research Professor

Arctic Centre

Sanna Kopra’s research focuses on Arctic geopolitics and global environmental politics. She is the author of China and Great Power Responsibility for Climate Change (Routledge 2019) and a co-editor of Chinese Policy and Presence in the Arctic (Brill Publishing 2020, with Timo Koivurova). Currently, Sanna leads three research projects: Rethinking International Relations in an Era of the Planetocene: Case Arctic Ocean Up to 2050 funded by the Research Council of Finland (2023-2027), A Planetary Approach to Global Arctic Politics funded by the University of Lapland’s internal strategy funding (2022-2024), and Climate Responsibility as a Cornerstone of Multilateral Cooperation? funded by the Kone Foundation (2022-2025).

Junior Researcher

Katharina Heinrich holds a master’s degree in Polar Law from the University of Akureyri, Iceland, and a master’s degree in Coastal and Marine Management from the University Centre of the Westfjords, Iceland. Her research focuses on Arctic and Antarctic Law and Policy, Environmental Law, Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Management under consideration of ecosystem dynamics and climate change impacts. Katharina works on the following projects: Transboundary governance models of biodiversity protection: case studies for an enhanced protection of natural resources in Europe; Rethinking International Relations in an Era of the Planetocene: Case Arctic Ocean Up to 2050; and ICEBERG – Innovative Community Engagement for Building Effective Resilience and Arctic Ocean Pollution-control Governance in the Context of Climate Change.

Researcher

Arctic Centre

Liisa Kauppila is a China researcher and a futurist. Her research interests include China’s economic engagement in the Arctic and Nordic countries, technology related aspects of great power rivalry, experimental futures research methods and relational theory. Kauppila works in the project Rethinking International Relations in an Era of the Planetocene: Case Arctic Ocean Up to 2050.

She has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and policy-oriented reports and facilitated five major Delphi studies at the intersection of social science and art.

Academy Research Fellow

Arctic Centre

Vesa is a political geographer who works as an Academy Research Fellow in the project “Rethinking the territory of geopolitics: spatialities, temporalities and materialities of Arctic geopolitics”, which is funded by the Research Council of Finland (2024—2028). The key objective of his research is to dismantle the prevailing spatial ontology of territories and the associated understanding of geopolitics that are the key drivers in many a socio-ecological crisis today. Before the current position Vesa worked in the project “A Planetary Approach to Global Arctic Politics”. Put together, his previous and current research seeks to integrate more-than-human thinking into research on Arctic geopolitics and promote ways of thinking that enable the realization of socio-ecological justice.

Visiting Researcher

Adrian Braun holds a doctoral degree in social sciences and business studies awarded from the University of Eastern Finland. The dissertation had a strong thematic focus on Corporate Social Responsibility in the European Arctic with consideration of natural resources exploitation. Currently, Adrian puts emphasis on the novel developments around sustainable investments and links this topic partly to Arctic and Sub-Arctic regional plans.

Junior Researcher

Arctic Centre

Zoha Fatima is a visiting researcher at the Arctic Centre and a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland. Her research examines Arctic governance in the context of intensifying great power rivalries, with a particular focus on China, the United States, and Russia. She explores how geopolitical competition intersects with environmental change, existing governance frameworks, and emerging security dynamics in the Arctic. Zoha holds an MSc in Diplomacy and International Security from the University of Strathclyde, where her dissertation analysed Chinese and U.S. approaches to the Arctic region.

Junior Researcher

Currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Lapland, Marco Ghisetti holds degrees in world politics and international relations and in philosophy. He has worked and conducted research in Europe, Russia, and Australia. He is the creator and leader of the Italian-language scholarly, peer-reviewed “Classics of Geopolitics” book series. He also participates in the current “second rebirth of Geopolitics,” which advocates for a spatially grounded approach to international relations research. His primary areas of study include geopolitics of the Arctic, classical and history of geopolitical thought and North American geopolitics.

Visiting Reseacher

Joni’s research examines the discursive constructions of military governance in Arctic security, with a specific focus on how strategic actions of Arctic-interested states—including overt action, non‑action, silence, and the exclusion of particular actors or narratives—shape perceptions of threat and rationalities of control. His work analyses how these practices contribute to the formation of security measures, countermeasures, and emerging forms of both security and vulnerability in the Arctic region. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Lapland. He is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Lapland.

Visiting Researcher

Arctic Centre

Marja Helena Sivonen earned her PhD in Social Sciences (Sociology) from Tampere University in March 2025. She currently works as a Senior Researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute and is a visiting scholar at AIR during 2025–2026. Her research spans climate mitigation and adaptation from social sciences point of view, energy transitions, security, justice, and Arctic affairs. Grounded in social constructivist perspectives, she explores how discourse shapes societal change. She is also a chair of the Arctic Society of Finland and a member of the Saami Climate Council.

Researcher

Arctic Centre

Paula Tulppo is a PhD candidate in the field of Administrative Science and in her PhD research she scrutinizes European Union’s cross-border cooperation as a tool for regional development at the northern border region between Finland and Sweden. She graduated as a Master of Administrative Sciences from the University of Tampere, with Regional Studies as a main subject. Paula works in a project Transboundary governance models of biodiversity protection: case studies for an enhanced protection of natural resources in Europe.

Visiting Researcher

Arctic Centre

Marco Volpe’s research focuses on China´s engagement in the Arctic region with a specific look at the Chinese epistemic community´s debate related to Arctic issues. His research comprehends analysis of Chinese language-based literature. He holds a Master´s degree in Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of Rome La Sapienza, an Mres in East Asian Studies from the University of Leeds and a Master in Sustainable Development, Geopolitics of Resources and Arctic Studies from the Italian Society for International Organization. He is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Lapland.

Visiting Researcher

Arctic Centre

Yue Wang is a Doctoral Researcher in International Relations at Tampere University in Finland. His research lies in the overall theme of international politics and governance in the Arctic. More specifically, he focuses on China and the Arctic, Arctic energy politics, and unintended consequences of international cooperation in the Arctic. Yue holds a MA degree (cum laude) in International Relations from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and a BA degree with honours in History from China.

Visiting Researcher

Arctic Centre

Xinyuan Zhang (Olivia) is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Lapland with a background in international relations and media studies. Before transitioning to research in Europe, she spent nearly eight years reporting on economic, political, and technology news in China for an international audience. Her research explores China’s economic engagement in the Arctic and Nordic regions, BRICS involvement in polar affairs, and China’s AI policies. She has contributed to projects on China’s evolving policies in the critical minerals industry and their impact on Norway, as well as China’s domestic discourse and actions in the Bering Strait and Bering Sea.