معرفی
Sirke Mäkinen is a University Lecturer at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Arts and affiliated with the Aleksanteri Institute - Finnish Centre for Russian and East European Studies. She holds a PhD in Political Science (2008) and the title of Docent in International Relations. Her work focuses on global knowledge production, internationalization of higher education in Central Asia, and Russian geopolitical discourse.
- Head of the Expertise in Russian and Eastern European Studies (ExpREES) non-degree program since 2019
- Supervisor for the Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal and Regional Change
Research Interests: Mäkinen’s research spans International Relations, Higher Education Policy, and Russian/Eurasian Studies, with specific attention to:
- Academic freedom in authoritarian contexts
- EU-China-Russia knowledge policy intersections
- Cultural statecraft and educational diplomacy
- Modernization of Russian foreign policy
- Post-Soviet geopolitical narratives
Projects: Currently leads research initiatives on Kazakhstan's knowledge policies (2024-2026) and Finnish-Russian academic methodologies (2021-2023). Previous projects include EU-funded CALOHEx (2020-2023) and studies on Russia's cultural statecraft (2016-2021).
Activities: Regularly engages in international seminars and conferences, including visiting researcher roles at KIMEP University (2024) and American University of Central Asia (2022). Serves as editor for Internasjonal politikk and peer reviewer for Idäntutkimus.
