Lecture at the University of Turku

Today Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen gave a guest lecture on the future of the Arctic at the University of Turku.  Together with researcher Ilona Mettiäinen from the University of Lapland they gave  lectures that are part of the international business course “Business prospects in the Arctic” at the Turku School of Economics.

Ilona Mettiäinen spoke about sustainable Arctic tourism – business, community and environmental aspects, and the title of Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen’s lecture was “Russia’s Arctic energy policies”.

Yköösaamu on oil and Russia

Listen to the new episode of Ykkösaamu radio programme on Yle Radio – Venäjä vaikuttaa öljyn hintaan ja öljy Venäjään” (Russia affects oil prices and the oil affects Russia).

The impact of Russia on oil prices is on the rise and the impact of oil prices on Russia rises too. How has Russia become more active? Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, Russian energy policy professor, and energy analyst Vesa Ahoniemi are interviewed.

Sports fields and corporate governmentality

Routledge published a new book edited by Natalie Koch “Critical Geographies of Sport : Space, Power and Sport in Global Perspective”. The volume contains a chapter by Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, titled “Sports fields and corporate governmentality: Gazprom’s all-Russian gas program as energopower”.

The chapter scrutinizes Russia’s state controlled gas company Gazprom’s relationship with the population by looking at the construction of sports facilities tied to the all-Russian gas program. Discursive and coercive governmentality come together in the energopower practiced by Gazprom: via amalgamation of energy and sports the “presence” of the state is made concrete through both gas pipelines and spatially-extensive sport facilities. Gazprom’s program advances the Great Power ambitions of Putin’s regime in the name of social “responsibility”, yet the sports-orientated social program aims ultimately to responsibilization of individuals to take care of both the wellbeing of the self and the nation, its economy and military might. Its unique form of corporate governmentality is the matrimony of the energy superpower ideal and military Great Power identity that are constructed with the help of sports metaphors, values, and infrastructures.

Get the chapter here.

Future of the Arctic

On 30th of November a session on the Arctic future was held at Tiedekulma. Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen took part in the discussion, the theme of which was “Finland, the Great Powers and the Arctic region”.

 

Russia’s Nuclear Power and Finland’s Foreign Policy

A new article by Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen was published “Russia’s Nuclear Power and Finland’s Foreign Policy” in the latest issue of Russian Analytical Digest.

It is a widely shared wisdom that energy is a central component in Russia’s foreign policy. The public discussion in Finland of the Fennovoima nuclear power plant, built now by Rosatom, shifted after the onset of the Ukrainian conflict. The insistence by some Finnish political and economic actors that the Russian nuclear power deal has nothing to do with foreign and security policies is worrying, as the measures taken both by the Finnish and Russian actors clearly demonstrate that the nuclear business, in particular, is highly political.

Read the full issue and the article (pp. 2-5) here.

 

HU interview

University of Helsinki website published a big interview with Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen:

Significant financial and political interests surround the issue of exploiting Arctic areas. For the environment, the risks are monumental.

Finland will be the chair of the Arctic Council for the 2017-19 term. The Council is an international political forum for the Arctic areas.

Aleksanteri Institute’s Professor Veli Pekka Tynkkynen believes that it is in Finland’s interests to ensure continuous cooperation among the parties operating in the Arctic.

The interview is available in English, Finnish, and Swedish here.

Winland research, Fennovoima case

A new paper by Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen was published at Winland website – “Poliittinen riski ja geopolitiikka Suomen ja Venäjän energiakaupassa – tapaus Fennovoima” (Political risk and geopolitics of Finnish and Russian energy trade – the case of Fennovoima). The paper examines the nature of political risk in energy trade between Finland and Russia through decision-making process in Fennovoima – Rosatom nuclear power project. Read the article here.