From Representative Democracy to Democratic Representation Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2329
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MAIJA MATTILA From Representative Democracy to Democratic Representation MATTILA MAIJA Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2329 MAIJA MATTILA From Representative Democracy to Democratic Representation Lessons from the Talvivaara controversy AUT 2329 AUT MAIJA MATTILA From Representative Democracy to Democratic Representation Lessons from the Talvivaara controversy ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Management of the University of Tampere, for public discussion in the auditorium Pinni B 1097, Kanslerinrinne 1, Tampere, on 24 November 2017, at 12 o’clock. UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE MAIJA MATTILA From Representative Democracy to Democratic Representation Lessons from the Talvivaara controversy Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2329 Tampere University Press Tampere 2017 ACADEMIC DISSERTATION University of Tampere Faculty of Management Finland The originality of this thesis has been checked using the Turnitin OriginalityCheck service in accordance with the quality management system of the University of Tampere. Copyright ©2017 Tampere University Press and the author Cover design by Mikko Reinikka Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2329 Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 1833 ISBN 978-952-03-0580-2 (print) ISBN 978-952-03-0581-9 (pdf) ISSN-L 1455-1616 ISSN 1456-954X ISSN 1455-1616 http://tampub.uta.fi Suomen Yliopistopaino Oy – Juvenes Print 441 729 Tampere 2017 Painotuote ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I started working on my PhD thesis in 2011. Little did I know, what a journey was ahead. When people ask me whether they should become PhD candidates, I usually reply: Don't! But to be honest, going through the process has made who I am today. The past years have been difficult, but all the same good. I feel moved about all the people who have enabled me to write this dissertation, and they turn out to be quite many. First, let me thank all the people who agreed to be interviewed for my study. Your input is valuable in better understanding the nature of political representation. I hope this will take further our collective understanding of what democracy is and how representation best serves it. Professor Tapio Raunio has enabled this dissertation in many ways. It was he whom I called when planning to return to academia for PhD studies in 2011. He was immediately welcoming, which gave me confidence to pursue my plans to write a doctoral dissertation. As my supervisor, he was always prompt in his comments. Most importantly, he took care of the one thing a PhD candidate cannot do without: funding. I was in the right place at the right time to be one of the last recipients of the POLITU (National School of Political Studies) 4-year salaried funding. I do not think I would have gotten the funding without Tapio's influence. I always felt Tapio was on my side. Thank you. Thanks for the early phases of the PhD project also go to professor emeritus Heikki Paloheimo. Together with Tapio, he recommended me for the Finnish Cultural Foundation Pirkanmaa Regional Fund scholarship in 2011 with success, as I landed with a full-year scholarship. Without this early support, I would not be here today. Heikki also contacted me shortly after I had started, and asked me to join his Academy of Finland funded project 'Political Power in Finland'. This project allowed me to publish in two edited volumes (The Shifting Balance of Political Power in Finland, Santerus 2016; Poliittinen valta Suomessa, Vastapaino 2017), which was important in developing the argument of this dissertation. Thank you, Heikki. One of the greatest things I got to do during the past years was to travel to New York City on a Fulbright Graduate Grant for the academic year 2014–2015. Professor David Plotke welcomed me to the New School for Social Research, and turned out to be an invaluable advisor. At my arrival, I was quite badly stuck and confused about my work. Surprisingly, David had faith in me. His wise instructions on how to proceed with writing were priceless, and I sincerely do not believe this book would exist without David. David was also one of my pre-examiners and lifted my spirits with his delightful statement. The most heartfelt thanks go to David. My other pre-examiner was professor Marja Keränen, and I could not have hoped for more insightful comments on my work. By carefully examining the piece, Marja saw its essence and was able to narrate it better than what I had done. At the last stages, this helped me to decisively clarify my argument. Thank you, Marja, for your indispensable guidance! I would also like to thank professor emeritus Kyösti Pekonen for kindly accepting the invitation to be my opponent. After reading his book Puhe eduskunnassa, I am confident we are going to have an interesting discussion at the defense. As indicated above, the dissertation was funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation Pirkanmaa Regional Fund, National School of Political Studies (POLITU), and the Fulbright Graduate Grant. The School of Management of the University of Tampere extended my funding period due to my shop steward activities and maternity leave. I also received travel grants for numerous conferences and seminars from the School of Management and Konkordia-liitto. POLITU, the School of Management, and Heikki Paloheimo's Academy of Finland project 'Political Power in Finland' funded the data collection and transcribing the interviews. The understanding and support from Mikko Majander and Kalevi Sorsa Foundation allowed me to finalize the thesis. It is overwhelming to think how many people have believed in me enough to support me in sums I cannot even begin to count. I am deeply grateful for all this support. Special thanks go to Jarmo Rinne and Tiina Rättilä for guest-editing a special issue in Politiikka (2016, 58:2) on political representation. Their comments helped me to cross the threshold of publishing and gave me much needed confidence. I have received similar support from Mari K. Niemi, with whom we have also had good discussions about academia. Thank you! Tarja Seppä was recently described by a former colleague of mine as being an angel. This is an apt characterization. I wonder if Tarja understands the impact she has had on so many students and junior scholars at the University of Tampere politics degree program. Her wisdom and warmth took me through some of the most difficult phases of my project, and her presence at the faculty is something I miss the most. Thank you, Tarja. Another heartfelt thanks go to Tapani Turkka. I regret Tapani no longer walks the aisles of the University of Tampere, but I am happy he is to be seen around Tammelantori. We share roots in Central Finland, you know, Kinnula and Pihtipudas, to our great amusement. Tapani echoes the spirit of a true academic in his both deep and wide-ranging understanding of politics. He was one of the few people who took interest in what I did and always encouraged me to go forward. Thank you Tapani! One of the most rewarding things during the last years have been the chance to get to know and befriend new people. Sharing my frustration with Johanna Kentala- Lehtonen about the difficulty of writing a dissertation was soothing time after time. Hyeon Su Seo has been a true companion, as we have written our dissertations at the same time. I miss him walking to my room and starting a conversation that would last sometimes for an hour. Through Hyeon Su I have been lucky to get to know his lovely wife Mija Hong and witty son Sunjae Seo. Hyeon Su and Mija will hopefully share their wisdom with me of how to do such good job in raising a child! Saara Särmä, the official feminist of Finland, is my idol in how to live life and do politics. While at the office, I always hoped to run into her and get her consolation for whatever difficulty I was facing. I was happy to have Dicle Korkmaz as my office neighbor for a while, and a friend hopefully for life. Thanks for enlightening my time at the politics 'department' go also to David Arter, Minna Höijer, Elina Kestilä- Kekkonen, Riitta Lehtimäki, Sirke Mäkinen, Hanna Ojanen, Pallavi Pal, Eero Palmujoki, Johanna Peltoniemi, Mikko Poutanen, Rune Saugmann, and Mikko Värttö (thanks for returning my books to the library!). Special thanks go to Michael Herman for proofreading my dissertation (you probably should have proofread these acknowledgements as well, but I was too embarrassed to ask you to do that at the last minute). With Jenni Rinne I share the interest in political representation. She dragged me into co-chairing a workshop during the FPSA Annual Conference in 2014, and it turned out to be a good experience. We have walked through the last years side-by- side, which has brought me comfort and faith. Other faithful companions in the extended POLITU family were Marie-Christine Boilard, Maija Jäske, and Leena Vastapuu. Thank you, all! At the beginning of my project I got to know Heikki A. Kovalainen and Maria Mäkelä, who became my good friends. Their warm sandwiches, pizza, and sauna were always comforting and much-needed. Heikki was there at a crucial moment when I needed a shoulder to cry on. He also read and commented my work with great insight and empathy. Heikki's and Maria's help and warmth have carried me this far, thank you. (I hope to return to the badminton field with Maria someday, for good sports and cursing.) Aki Luoto and Mari Kettunen have been my best friends for almost a decade. When stressing over the last phases of the project and expressing this stress in so many words to them, Aki's first question was: "How can we help?".