Niklas Bremberg and Janne Holmén were elected by the Board of Directors at the annual meeting on 26 March to the Research Council of the Åland Islands Peace Institute.
Niklas Bremberg is Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Political Science at Stockholm University. He is also associated as a researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Sipri. His research focuses on European integration and European foreign and security policy. He has also conducted research on pro-independence parties in Europe. He is theoretically interested in issues related to diplomatic practices, security communities and the relationship between climate change and international security.
– I am very pleased to be elected to the Research Council of the Åland Islands Peace Institute and I look forward to participating in the work of the Council. The Institute has an important role to play by contributing knowledge and perspectives on issues related to peace and security in a broad sense in the troubled times we live in. The fact that both Finland and Sweden are now part of NATO puts these issues in a partly new light, and increased cooperation on research and analysis in the Baltic Sea region is thus of great importance,’ he says.
Janne Holmén, PhD in history, defended his thesis at Uppsala University in 2006 on how the different foreign policy positions of Norway, Sweden and Finland during the Cold War affected the portrayal of the USA and the Soviet Union in the countries’ textbooks. Holmén has also conducted research on regional identity and regional historiography on islands in the Baltic Sea and on mental maps and historical views among high school students in the Baltic and Mediterranean regions.
– It will be interesting to be part of the research council. I have collaborated with the Peace Institute in several contexts, mainly by presenting my research through them, and I have also contributed to an anthology that the Institute initiated. Over the years, the Peace Institute has conducted diverse and interdisciplinary humanities and social science research. This environment appeals to me and I look forward to contributing to its development through my involvement,’ he says.
Other news within the Research Council is that Katja Creutz will become chairman after Gunilla Herolf, who will not continue on the Council. Kjell-Åke Nordquist will become secretary.
The most important role of the Research Council is to help develop the upcoming research programme for 2026-2030.
For more information about the Åland Islands Peace Institute and our Research Council, please visit www.peace.ax
