Curriculum vitae

Research Interests

• Bolivia
• Cuba
• Kenya
• Global South
• Latin American Politics and Development
• Activism and Civil Society
• State and Democracy
• Indigenous and Ethnic Politics in Latin America and Africa
• Intersecting Inequalities (Race, Ethnicity, Gender)
• Alternative Development Approaches (Buen Vivir / Vivir Bien)
• Decolonizing Development
• Finland's Development Cooperation

Description of Research and Teaching

I hold a permanent position as the Senior Lecturer of Global Development Studies. 

My research operates at the intersections of development, politics, and power in Latin America and Africa. I am particularly interested in Indigenous and ethnic politics, anti-racism activism, democracy, and intersecting inequalities in the Global South. Additionally, I explore decolonizing and locally grounded alternatives to mainstream development thinking and practice. I have conducted long-term ethnographic and qualitative research in Bolivia, Cuba, and Kenya.

I am also increasingly interested in examining the evolving global and national policy environment related to development policy and cooperation within the framework of Finland’s foreign and security policy, as well as Finland’s efforts to strengthen civil societies, promote democracy, and advance gender equality with its Global South partners.

I lead a Kone Foundation-funded research project on "Finland's Changing Gender Equality Partnerships in Development Cooperation" (2024-2029). The team of five researchers investigates gender equality in Finnish-funded development cooperation projects in Kenya, covering bilateral, private sector, and NGO projects, both historically and in contemporary global context in which development cooperation is drastically changing.

As Academy of Finland Research Fellow (2021-2026), I investigated racism and anti-racism activism in Latin American left-wing politics. The country cases included Bolivia, Cuba, and Colombia, and the research was conducted collaboratively with anti-racism scholar-activists. 

The results of my earlier Academy of Finland-funded research project for young scholars were published as an open-access edited book titled Citizenship Utopias in the Global South: The Emergent Forms of Activism in an Era of Disillusionment (Routledge, 2025), co-edited with Henri Onodera and Martta Kaskinen.

I am an experienced teacher of development studies, having taught more than 30 full courses at the bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. I have completed 40 ECTS in university pedagogy.

Societal Impact

I actively contribute to public debate on development cooperation, civil society in development, and Latin American politics. I have led several commissioned research projects for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and civil society organizations. I serve on the board of the KIOS Human Rights Foundation and the Rule of Law Center.