I started to study Finnish society in 2007, when I first came to Rovaniemi. With degrees in the social sciences and management studies, and being interested in energy politics and public participation, Finnish nuclear power plants became the focus of my PhD studies at the University of Oulu. In autumn 2011, my PhD thesis was published just after the Finnish government had decided to give the green light for a nuclear new-built in a new site just south of Oulu. Naturally, I was interviewed by media for my expertise on the matter, and commented on the problematic aspects of public participation in planning and licensing procedures just as the one that had preceded the governmental decision in 2011.

In particular, I pointed out that the purpose of public participation remains vague and open for lobbying throughout a given process, i.e. the participatory scheme has more of a marketing show, and participants often feel betrayed for their commitment to give critical input. Moreover, there is no guidance on how public input should be dealt with during actual decision making, especially since there are no attempts for participatory procedures to become inclusive of all citizens concerned by a project.

In a society where decisions are based on majority vote, the opinions of a few cannot be decisive. Even more so when they are replicated for governmental decision making by those industrial companies in favour of the project. A strong bias in conveying public opinion to politicians cannot be denied to influence the final decision making.

My current research interest continues to focus on decision making, planning and assessment processes in the circumpolar North, and goes a bit more into the socio-legal direction of study. I am curious to observe current processes of socio-legal transformations in the Arctic, and investigate those of the past. Having spent the academic year 2009/2010 in Canada, I have become familiar with the complex issues of decision making on indigenous territory, and hooked up with the idea of studying indigenous legal order as part of contemporary society. Both the development of environmental and assessment law and the interaction of western and indigenous legal orders constitute my main interest. Empirically, I will be looking at management problems which have their causes in incongruences of legal orders.

In my free time, I deeply enjoy family life, the outdoors and reading. All available and easily combined on the spot in such a perfect location such as Rovaniemi. More recently, I have become a member of the remontti-people in Finnish society, and reframed my perception towards the kinds of building materials, tools and schedules of other people’s renovations of their homes. I cannot just look at a house any more without checking how the drains have been fixed, the paint has been applied on the window frames, and how the snow will probably come off the roof in winter…