Challenging Power

Researchers (in alphabetical order)

Peter A. Kraus is based at CEREN, Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki, where he holds the Chair of Ethnic Relations. He has a long research record in the fields of cultural pluralism, nationalism and immigration in the European context. This includes major studies on the role of minority nationalisms in contemporary Spain and on cultural diversity and language policy in the process of European integration as well as manifold contributions to the analysis of ethnicity, nation-building and democracy. He is currently also involved in a research project on immigration, cultural heterogenization and integration policies in European cities, which is carried out at the auspices of the Social Science Research Centre Berlin. He has published extensively in the areas mentioned above.

Camilla Nordberg received her Doctoral degree in Social Policy in 2007. Since 2006 she has been attached to the Swedish School of Social Science as a university lecturer in Social Work.  Her research expertise is in the fields of migration, ethnic relations, media and citizenship (see e.g. Nordberg 2005, 2006, 2007). From 2006 to 2011, Nordberg is participating in the Nordic Centre of Excellence Programme on Welfare Research, ‘The Nordic Welfare State – historical foundations and future challenges’, coordinated by the University of Helsinki, Department of Social Science History. From 2007 to 2008 she was a member of the NORFACE network ‘Migrant Labour in the Elder Care Sector’, coordinated by the Oxford Institute of Ageing. She is involved in a comparative study on public debates on elderly care and migration in Finland and Sweden in collaboration with a Swedish researcher. Previous research collaboration includes the Academy of Finland programme ‘SYREENI – Marginalisation, Inequality and Ethnic Relations in Finland’ 2001-2003. She has been a visiting researcher at the Department of Social Sciences at Loughborough University, UK and at the Department of Ethnic Studies at Linköping University, Sweden

Niko Pyrhönen received his Master’s degree in politics in 2009 and is now working as a researcher in the project. His Master’s thesis, written for the project, explored how paradigmatic divisions within immigration and citizenship studies result in a relative weakness in transcending the gap between academic and practical political discourses. Pyrhönen is now preparing his PhD dissertation that assesses the Nordic dimension of immigration legislation. The doctoral research conducted for the project will focus on constructions of national identity in face of increasing heterogeneity and the consequent welfare state-relevant implications for the regimes of recognition and the redistribution these constructions entail.

Sanna Saksela received her Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology 1999. Since 2001, Saksela has worked as a research assistant at Ceren (2001-2003) and she has been a student at sociology at the Doctoral school of ‘Ethnic Relations and Multicultural Diversity’ at the University of Helsinki (05/2004-04/2006).Saksela has held an EU-Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Liège, Belgium (2003-04). Saksela has also participated in several international projects dealing with participation of immigrant associations, such as the Nordic joint project of ‘The role of immigrant associations in the integration process’ (2003), the Finnish country case report on Migrants, Minorities, Belonging and Citizenship: Glocalization and Participant Dilemmas in EU and Small States, (2004) and POLITIS Active Civic Participation of Immigrants (2005). Further research experience Saksela has gained by exploring the cooperation between local authorities and immigrant associations in the capital region of Helsinki (Joronen, 2005).

Matti Similä has carried out research within the field of migration, ethnic relations and nationalism since the second half of the 1980’s. His first study concerned identity and life styles among young immigrants from Turkey and Yugoslavia in Stockholm. A second project concerned the reception of refugees in six Swedish municipalities. A third project analysed the recruitment to higher education among immigrant youth in Sweden. Similä has also studied the role of bilingualism. In recent years his interest has moved in the direction of minorities, nationalism and nation building processes. Most recently he has studied the construction of Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking Finns in history school books. Similä is the director of CEREN at the Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki since 2003.

Reetta Toivanen has extensive experience in the field of minority research from a social anthropological perspective. Her masters and licentiates thesis studied foreign mother tongues teachers and the role of mother tongue, culture and religiosity in a new country (1994 / -95). Her dissertation focussed on Sámi peoples and the realisation of their human rights to minority identity (2000; Toivanen 2001). In her most recent studies she analysed racist motivated crimes and how these are culturalised in the media discourse (Toivanen 2004). The still ongoing project of “Teaching Human Rights in Europe”, examines the role of human rights education in the integration of minorities in Europe. It shows how even the good-will projects launched by interstate organisations and NGOs to empower minorities, often fail to include the members of minorities as active partners to the conception of their programmes (Toivanen 2006).

Niklas Wilhelmsson received his Master's degree in political science in 2003. Since 2001 he has been working at CEREN, first as research administrator (2001-2004) and since 2004 as researcher and Ph.D. student in political science. Wilhelmsson has participated in several national and international research projects dealing with democracy, political participation and equality (Demokrati i Sverige och Finland, POLITIS-Active Civic Participation of Third Country Immigrants, Skillnader mellan finskt och svenskt väljarbeteende) Wilhelmsson has held an EU-Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Bamberg, Germany (2005). He has been assistant lecturer in political science at the Swedish School of Social Science.