Research of Regional Transformation (Regional and Political Geography)

Research themes

Research on Regional Transformation concentrates on internationally topical themes around regions and borders, which are studied both theoretically and empirically. In this research regional and political geography are brought together. The main themes in regional geography are the social construction of regions, the making of the meanings of regions and borders, and identity politics that manifest themselves in politics, culture, economy and governance. Regions and regional identity are key categories in the current Regional and Cohesion policies of the European Union and they are also related to the wider discussion on regional development and such concepts as trust and social capital. Research has focused e.g. on regions, political borders, nationalism and regionalism in Finland and in the European Union. Research has focused e.g. on the chancing meanings of the borders of Finland, Russia and Sweden, on “Northernness” and on the position of ethnic minorities. Researchers have actively developed the theoretical-methodological foundation of geography, for example such concepts as region, place and space. Current research networks are especially to Scandinavia and Great Britain. One specific theme is the research in science studies that has concentrated especially on the limits of the internationalization of publishing activities. Researchers have close cooperation with the researchers in Social Geography and Tourism Geography Groups at the department.

Staff

Professor PhD Anssi Paasi (Professor of Finnish Academy 1.1. 2008-31.12.2012)
Professor  (to be named later)
Senior Assistants PhD Mervi Tervo
Assistant MSc Vilhelmiina Takanen
Post.doc. Researcher PhD Juha Ridanpää
Researcher MSc Eeva-Kaisa Prokkola
Researcher MSc Tanja Löytynoja
Researcher Kaj Zimmerbauer
Researcher Joni Vainikka

Research projects

Crossing borders, building identities: new regionalizations, tourism and everyday life in Northern Europe (Finnish Academy 2005-2009). Researchers Tanja Löytynoja and Eeva-Kaisa Prokkola

Region-building, boundaries and identity in a globalizing world (Finnish Academy 2008-2012). Researchers Joni Vainikka and Kaj Zimmerbauer.

Geographies of Irony: Mikael Niemi’s literature and the renegotiation of regional identities in the Tornio Valley. Contact person: Juha Ridanpää

Main publications

• Paasi, A. (2003) Territory. In Agnew, J, Mitchell, K & G Toal (editors). A Companion to Political Geography. Blackwell, Oxford 2003, 109-122.

• Paasi, A. (2003) Boundaries in a globalizing world. In Anderson, K, Domosh, M, Pile, S and N Thrift (editors) Handbook of Cultural Geography. Sage, London 2003, 462-472.

• Tervo, M. (2004) A Cultural Community in the Making: Sport, National Imagery and Helsingin Sanomat, 1912-36. Sport in Society 7, 153-174.

• Paasi, A. (2005) Globalization, academic capitalism and the uneven geographies of international journal publishing spaces. Environment and Planning A, 769-789.

• Prokkola, E. (2007) Cross-border regionalization and tourism development at the Swedish-Finnish border: Destination Arctic Circle. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 7(1), 120-138.

• Ridanpää, J. (2007) Laughing at northernness: postcolonialism and metafictive irony in the imaginative geography. Social & Cultural Geography 8, 907-928.

• Ridanpää, J. (2007) Conceptualizing the North: Orientalism in the Arctic. Arctic & Antarctic. International Journal of Sociocultural Issues 1, 11-38.

• Paasi, A. & E. Prokkola (2008) Regional dynamics, border work and everyday life at the Finnish-Swedish border. Space and Polity (forthcoming)

• Paasi, A. (2008) Regions and regional dynamics in Europe. In Rumford, C (ed.): Handbook of European Studies. Sage, London (forthcoming)

• Paasi, A. (2008) The Finnish landscape as social practice: mapping identity and scale. In Jones, M. & K. Olwig (eds.): Nordscapes. Thinking Landscape and Regional Identity on the Northern Edge of Europe. The University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis (forthcoming)