ISDP-KAS Webinar III: Sino-Nordic Interests in the Artic

Welcome to the third and final webinar in our joint ISDP-KAS series on Sino-Nordic relations!

This joint ISDP-KAS will focus on Sino-Nordic Relations in the Arctic. Our invited discussant from the Nordic countries and Germany will share their insights and experiences about developing interests above the Polar Circle. The discussion will touch upon the regional implications of global climate change, efforts to establish new infrastructure and trade routes, relations between national governments and indigenous communities, as well as regional security concepts. This event seeks to ground to connect Arctic issues with a wider discussion of Sino-Nordic relations and follows on our two earlier events on September 28th and October 12th.

Did you miss the webinar? Watch the online recording here!

Attending Speakers 

Adam Stepien is a political scientist working at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland in Finland. His research interests include Arctic governance, Arctic cooperation, regional development in peripheral regions, and the role of the EU in the Arctic. Adam was involved in a number of policy advice projects for the European Parliament, the European External Action Service, and the Finnish government. Recently, he has been working on the EU’s environmental and economic footprint in the Arctic, Chinese presence in the circumpolar North, with a focus on in Northern Fennoscandia, as well as prospects for innovation and a knowledge-based economy in the northernmost part of Europe.

Liisa Kauppila is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Political Science, University of Turku and a PhD Researcher at the Centre of East Asian Studies, University of Turku. She holds two master’s degrees in East Asian Studies and Futures Studies. In the past, she has lived in Beijing, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and worked in China and futures research-related jobs in several Finnish state institutions, including the Bank of Finland and the Finnish Transport Agency. She is currently analyzing Chinese company acquisitions in the Nordic countries in an Academy of Finland-funded project and finishing her Ph.D. thesis, which is an Arctic case study of China’s global economic outreach.

Guðbjörg Ríkey Th. Hauksdóttir is a Project Manager at the Centre for Arctic Studies. She holds a B.A. degree in Chinese Studies from the University of Iceland and an M.A. degree in International Relations from the same university. Currently, she is working on a PhD thesis at the University of Iceland. She has also been a part-time teacher at the University of Iceland, teaching on international relations and security.  Her main research interests include the Arctic, Arctic security, foreign policy, small state security and Chinese foreign policy.

This webinar is part of the Institute for Security and Development Policy and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Sino-Nordic project.