Africa and the changing global order: Opportunities for Finland’s foreign policy

Pasi Rajala is politically appointed State Secretary to Foreign Minister
Elina Valtonen and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen. He has previously served as Special European Affairs Adviser to Prime Minister, Special Adviser to Minister for Trade and Development, and Press Counselor and Spokesperson of the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Prior to that he has held a number of communications positions, including in development finance company Finnfund, PR agency EuroRSCG, and the UN Development Program.

Mr. Rajala holds a Master of Social Sciences degree from the University of Helsinki where he majored in International Relations.

Holy Ranaivozanany is the Deputy Executive Director of the Africa-Europe Foundation, strategically contributing to the organization mission and key priorities, management, partnerships and budget, including responsibility for impactful engagement and outreach across Africa, Europe and through global platforms. Holy has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement and communications regarding sustainability issues. Prior to joining the Africa-Europe Foundation, she led corporate social responsibility and sustainability for Fortune 500 companies based in China and France, covering strategy, policy work and communications. With a focus on technology for good, she launched global digital inclusion and education programmes and drove corporate engagement with international organisations, civil society and academia, notably on climate change and circular economy. She is a graduate from EDHEC Business School.

Katariina Mustasilta is a Senior Research Fellow in the European Union and Strategic Competition programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Her research covers countries’ internal conflicts, the EU’s external action in the realms of conflicts and threats to peace, and international conflict prevention and peace-building efforts. Her publications include academic articles in journals such as the Journal of Peace Research and European Foreign Affairs Review as well as more policy-oriented research reports and briefings.

She recently led FIIA’s project ‘Finland in Afghanistan 2001-2021’ that examined Finland’s engagement in the stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. At the moment she focuses on European conflict prevention and management efforts in the time of strategic competition, European strategic cultures, and conflict analysis as a tool for water diplomatic efforts.

Prior to joining FIIA, Mustasilta worked at the EUISS, where she covered conflict research relevant to the EU’s integrated approach to conflicts and crises. Mustasilta holds a PhD in Political Science from the Government Department at the University of Essex. Her PhD focused on the role of traditional governance in sub-Saharan African countries’ internal conflicts.

Mustasilta is the co-editor of Finland’s leading peer‑reviewed academic journal on peace and conflict studies and IR, Kosmopolis.

Angela Muvumba Sellström is a senior researcher on the UN Security Council, women, peace and security, and conflict-related sexual violence. She has worked on Africa’s peace and security for over two decades in academic, policy, and diplomatic roles.

Martins Kwazema has a background in Futures Studies and a Ph.D. in Historical Sciences. His current research problematizes the complexity of Africa’s present and Future through an anticipatory tool he has developed called the Past Futures Framework. His goal is to theorize and develop decolonial futures research that weaves the past and future to deepen understanding of Africa’s wicked problems. He has applied this framework to understand Ghana’s December 31st Revolution in his Ph.D. Thesis and currently applies the framework in understanding Kenya’s Gen-Z protests in 2024.

Therese Sjömander is the Director of the Nordic Africa Institute. She holds a PhD focusing on international water issues in Southern Africa, and has over 20 years of experience in foreign policy, development cooperation, and international research, with a particular focus on Africa and the Middle East. She has served at the Swedish Embassy in Mozambique and held several leadership positions. Dr Sjömander has worked closely with foreign ministries, the UN system, development banks, and civil society, and has contributed to regional investment strategies and World Bank-financed projects. She is frequently engaged as a moderator in high-level forums on international relations and development issues, facilitating dialogue between government representatives, diplomats, researchers, and decision-makers.

Juha Jokela is the Programme Director of the European Union and strategic competition research programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Jokela’s previous academic and policy studies projects and publications include the EU’s sanctions policy, political implications of Brexit for the EU, political and security developments in the Arctic, Europeanisation of foreign policy, EU’s Asia relations, and Finland’s EU policy. His current research interests include differentiated integration in EU’s foreign policy, and the role of G7 and G20 in multilateral cooperation.

Jokela has previously worked at the EU Institute for Security Studies as a Senior Associated Analyst and Senior Visiting Research Fellow, as an Advisor at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and as a Research Fellow and the Director of the Network for European Studies at the University of Helsinki. Jokela is a member of the board of Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), member of the Steering Committee of EuroMesCo, the main network of research centres and think-tanks in the Euro-Mediterranean area, and member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP).

Jokela holds a PhD from the University of Bristol (UK), which focused on Europeanisation and foreign policy in Finland and the UK, and a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Birmingham (UK).

Liisa Laakso is an expert in world politics and development, focusing on democracy, crisis management, and EU-Africa relations. She has held key academic roles, including Rector of the University of Tampere, and served in advisory roles for governmental and non-governmental organizations.