Marika Kettunen

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Geography Research Unit. My research lies at the intersection of geography and youth studies. I approach youth and young people’s experiences as spatial phenomena, with particular attention to the interplay of spatial inequalities, (geo)political relations and young people’s everyday lives.

In my current postdoctoral research, I investigate how the changing security landscape and growing efforts to involve young people in the production of national security manifest in education and schooling in Finland. I am particularly interested in how this entwines with militarisation and securitisation, and how they shape youth subjectivities. I do this work as part of the four‑year project "Youth in the Security Agenda: Rethinking (In)Security through Young People (YOUTHSEC)", funded by the Kone Foundation.

I received my PhD in Geography in 2025. Through its focus on youth educational paths conceptualised as “spaces of education”, my PhD research shaped my multidisciplinary orientation - drawing me into the intersection of geography, youth studies, and education and grounding my work in qualitative, post‑qualitative, and ethnographic approaches.

My other teaching and research activities, both academic and non‑academic, have also addressed young people’s engagement with environmental politics and youth participation in regional and urban development.