Dr. Sinikukka Saari is Research Director at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. She works at FIIA’s Finnish Foreign Policy, Northern European Security and NATO programme and leads the cross-cutting theme Great Power Politics and Foresight at FIIA. Dr. Saari’s fields of expertise include Russia’s foreign and security policy, Finland’s foreign and security policy as well as foresight in IR and Foreign Policy studies. She’s particularly interested in Russia’s relations with its neighbouring states and EU–Russia relations.

Prior to her current position, Dr. Saari worked as a Senior Researcher at FIIA, as an Analyst for the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Tbilisi, as a Senior Associate at EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) in Paris and as a Special Advisor for the Policy Planning and Research Unit at the Foreign Ministry of Finland. She has also served as a visiting scholar at the Moscow Carnegie Center and at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) in Stockholm. Sinikukka Saari received her PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Social Sciences in 2007.

Expertise

Russian foreign policy; EU’s and Finland’s policy towards Russia; post-Soviet conflicts, EU’s eastern partnership policy, foresight

Degrees

Ph.D. in International Relations, The London School of Economics and Political Science (2007) 

Language skills

Finnish, English, Russian, (Swedish, French)

Projects

China’s disruptive technologies and international security
Northern Europe in Russia’s Foreign and Security Policy
Russia’s technological policy and knowhow in a competitive global context
Epävarmuustekijät toimintaympäristöanalyysissä: Koronakriisi Venäjällä -tapaustutkimus (MATINE)
Viro–Suomi-suhdeselvitys (UM)


Latest FIIA Publications

Expertise

Russian foreign policy; EU’s and Finland’s policy towards Russia; post-Soviet conflicts, EU’s eastern partnership policy, foresight

Work experience

Dr. Sinikukka Saari is a Leading Researcher at FIIA. Her area of expertise is the post-Soviet region. She has worked for many years at the nexus of research and strategic policy planning nationally and in the EU. Previously she has worked, for instance, at the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Helsinki), EU Monitoring Mission (Tbilisi). She holds a PhD from the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics.

Degrees

Ph.D. in International Relations, The London School of Economics and Political Science (2007) 

Language skills

Finnish, English, Russian, (Swedish, French)

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Saari, Sinikukka (2021). EU:n valtit Venäjän varalle. Ulkopolitiikka, 58 (2):36-39.

Saari, Sinikukka (2021). What if... the EU fails to promote democracy in Georgia? In Florence Gaub ed(s): What if... not? The cost of inaction. Paris: European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). 40-44.

Saari, Sinikukka (2021). Chickens coming home to roost. Mercenaries strike back. In Florence Gaub ed(s): Conflicts to come. 15 scenarios for 2030. Paris: European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). 34-37.

Saari, Sinikukka (2014). Separatismi ulkopolitiikan välineenä. Maanpuolustus 109, 31.12.

Russia's post-Orange Revolution strategies to increase its influence in former Soviet republics: public diplomacy po russkii.