The International Political Economy and Ecology (IPE2) research group was first established as an IPE-focused initiative in October 2022 and expanded to include political ecology in October 2025. The group supports and strengthens the study and teaching of international/global political economy and political ecology at Tampere University, particularly within the Politics Unit and the Faculty of Management and Business.
IPE2 approaches International Political Economy in a permissive and pluralist way. Broadly understood, IPE2 analyzes the entanglements of economic, ecological, political, and social processes beyond national settings.
This permissiveness and pluralism are reflected in the group’s theoretical and methodological orientations, which lean on engaged pluralism. Members draw on diverse traditions in International Political Economy and International Political Ecology, interdisciplinary perspectives, and inventive methodologies.
Methodologically, the group seeks to cultivate creativity in exploring how global political economies and ecologies are co-constituted.
Examples of research topics
- International political economy of higher education and academic capitalism
- Care and care labour, global health and social policies, health technologies
- Post-fossil futures and fantasies
- Political ecologies of climate action and adaptation
- Extractivism and resource governance
- International political economy of art and cultural production
- Cultural politics of affect, abject, and emotion
- Social reproduction of migrant labour
The activities of the research group are organized into the following streams
Research support: The group provides a collegial infrastructure for research through regular work‑in‑progress seminars (WiPs) and funding support workshops. These function as spaces for discussing work at different stages, offering peer feedback on manuscripts and funding proposals, and developing strategies for identifying research funding opportunities. The aim is to foster a supportive research environment grounded in collegial exchange and shared responsibility.
Mentoring: The group offers mentoring for scholars working on themes related to international political economy and ecology, particularly doctoral researchers and early‑career scholars. Mentoring takes place through discussions, collective feedback practices, and integration into the group’s research activities, with attention to different career stages and research trajectories.
Embedding IPE2 in teaching: The group actively works to mainstream and embed political economy and ecology perspectives in academic teaching at Tampere University. This includes the development of teaching materials, the integration of IPE2 research themes into existing courses, and the development of experimental pedagogical approaches that connect teaching with ongoing scholarly debates in the field.
Hosting visiting scholars: The group may also host visiting scholars whose research resonates with the group’s thematic focus areas. Visiting scholars are integrated into the group’s activities through short‑term visits, workshops, and informal exchanges. The aim is to contribute to sustained intellectual dialogue and international research networks.
Examples of externally funded research projects
- Assembling postcapitalist international political economy (PI Anni Kangas)
- Emergent un/sustainabilities: The global political economy of the adult incontinence pad (Pad Project) (PI Tiina Vaittinen)
- Politics of faeces in urban spaces, art, and bioethics (PI Anna Ilona Rajala)
- Post-capitalist choreographies of climate crisis (PI Henna-Elise Ventovirta)
- Pluriversal waters: Rethinking extractivist-colonial relations with water (PI Iuliia Gataulina)
- FANTASCRIT: Fantasies and geopolitics of critical raw materials in the North of Europe (PI Anni Kangas)
Members of the group
The group welcomes new members from or associated with Tampere University. Please, get in touch with director Anni Kangas, anni.kangas [at] tuni.fi (anni[dot]kangas[at]tuni[dot]fi) or deputy directors Mikko Poutanen (mikko.poutanen [at] tuni.fi) or Anna Ilona Rajala (anna.i.rajala [at] tuni.fi), if you would like to join the research group and its activities, of if you have questions about our group.