Researcher Profile and Settings

Affiliation

• Arctic Research Center

Job Title

• Associate Professor

Degree

• Ph.D.（University of Oulu）

URL

https://juhasaunavaara.wixsite.com/juhasaunavaara

J-Global ID

• 201701013779479493

Research Interests

• Paradiplomacy   Data Center   Connectivity   Japan   Nordic countries   Regional development   Hokkaido   Arctic   

Research Areas

• Humanities & social sciences / History - General
• Humanities & social sciences / International relations / Arctic and non-Arctic states
• Humanities & social sciences / Human geography / Regional development policies
• Humanities & social sciences / Local studies / Arctic, Japan, Hokkaido, Nordic countires

Educational Organization

•  Doctoral (PhD) degree program　Graduate School of Environmental Science

Academic & Professional Experience

• 2017 - Today University of Turku Japanese Studies Docent/adjunct professor (does not involve employment)
• 2017/01 - 2022/12 Hokkaido University Arctic Research Center Assistant Professor
• 2016/10 - 2016/12 Hokkaido University Public Policy School Visiting researcher (funded by the Academy of Finland)
• 2015/09 - 2016/09 University of Oulu Department of History University lecturer
• 2012/09 - 2015/09 University of Oulu Department of History Academy of finland postdoctoral researcher
• 2010/01 - 2012/08 University of Oulu Department of History Lecturer
• 2006/01 - 2010/12 University of Oulu Department of History Ph.D. Candidate

Research Activities

Published Papers

• The Arctic Corridor and Questions Concerning Social Responsibility and Sustainability. In A. Tsvetkova & K. Timochenko (Eds). Supply chain operations and their implications for social sustainability: insights from the Arctic.

  Juha Saunavaara, Ritva Kylli, Aileen Aseron Espíritu

  2023/10/23 [Refereed]
  
• Regional and Transnational Actors for Arctic Governance

  Juha Saunavaara

  Arctic Law in 1000 words 2023/09
• Infrastructural Developments in the Arctic

  Juha Saunavaara

  Arctic Law in 1000 words 2023/09
• Innovative Industries and the Future of Arctic Economy

  Juha Saunavaara

  Arctic Law in 1000 words 2023/09
• Ice-Breaking Tourism and Local Resilience Building

  Juha Saunavaara, Mari Partanen, Masato Tanaka, Takafumi Fukuyama

  Tourism Review International 27 (1) 35 - 49 1544-2721 2023/03/24 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  This study focuses on local ice-breaking tourism initiatives in Kemi (Finland), Mombetsu (Japan), and Abashiri (Japan). It adds to research on winter and cruise tourism and analyzes multiscalar challenges—ranging from the global warming and COVID-19 pandemic to dependency on local governmental support—threatening the future of tourism dependent on frozen maritime conditions and vulnerable to changing climate conditions. As the case study cities have invested significantly in tourism built around the uncontrollable natural phenomenon, changes in this industry can lead to substantial spillover effects in the surrounding communities. This qualitative comparative research is based on extensive fieldwork and utilizes the concept of resilience to discuss the means of responding to existing and predicted disturbances. The results of this study show that the recent adaptation and resiliency-building strategies have focused on searching for alternative use of old, new, and renovated ice-breaking vessels, attraction of new types of (often domestic) visitors, and development of activities and facilities that are less sensitive to seasonal variation and climate change. While introducing new local ideas concerning ecological and educational tourism, e-tourism, and community-oriented tourism, this article contributes to the understanding of resilience-building processes in tourism.
• The Nordic societies and the development of the data centre industry: Digital transformation meets infrastructural and industrial inheritance

  Juha Saunavaara, Antti Laine, Matti Salo

  Technology in Society 69 101931 - 101931 0160-791X 2022/05 [Refereed]
  
• Multilevel Governance and Interregional Cooperation in the Arctic and North

  Juha Saunavaara, Marina Lomaeva

  Current Developments in Arctic Law 9 20 - 25 2021/12 [Not refereed][Invited]
  
• Research, Development, and Education: Laying Foundations for Arctic and Northern Data Centers

  Juha Saunavaara, Antti Laine

  Arctic and North 42 126 - 146 2021/04 [Refereed][Invited]
   

  Russian version also available: Исследования, разработки и образование: создание основы для центров данных в Арктике и на Севере
• Hokkaido: From the “Road to the Northern Sea” to “Japan’s Gateway to the Arctic

  Julie Babin, Juha Saunavaara

  Asian Geographer 2021/04 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• Sámi and the early transport infrastructure in Finnish Lapland

  Ritva Kylli, Juha Saunavaara

  Barents Studies 4 (1) 85 - 105 2021/03 [Refereed]
  
• Telecommunication line infrastructure and the Arctic environment: past, present and future

  Juha Saunavaara, Ritva Kylli, Mirva Salminen

  Polar Record 57 2021 [Refereed]
  
• Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II: Japan’s New Arctic Flagship Project

  Juha Saunavaara, Fujio Ohnishi

  Current Developments in Arctic Law 8 40 - 43 2020/12 [Not refereed][Invited]
  
• GEOGRAPHY OF THE GLOBAL SUBMARINE FIBER-OPTIC CABLE NETWORK: THE CASE FOR ARCTIC OCEAN SOLUTIONS

  Juha Saunavaara, Mirva Salminen

  Geographical Review 1 - 19 0016-7428 2020/06/25 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• East Asian subnational government involvement in the Arctic: A case for paradiplomacy?

  Martin Kossa, Marina Lomaeva, Juha Saunavaara

  The Pacific Review 2020/02 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• 東アジア・欧州・北米を繋げる北極海：光海底ケーブルプロジェクトの過去と未来

  Juha Saunavaara

  ユーラシア研究 2019-6 (60) 16 - 21 2019/06 [Refereed][Invited]
  
• Arctic Subsea Communications Cables and the Regional Development of Northern Peripheries (Russian edition: Арктические подводные коммуникационные кабели и региональное развитие северных территорий)

  Juha Saunavaara

  Arctic and North 2018 (32) 2018/10 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• Reconstructing and redefining hokkaido during the post-war period

  Juha Saunavaara

  International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies 14 (1) 27 - 55 1823-6243 2018 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  The dominating and often contradicting tendencies of the early post-war Hokkaido were the continuing otherness, foreignness and distinctiveness from the rest of Japan, and the growing integration into the nation state. In other words, Hokkaido became more tightly connected to and more a part of Japan than ever before, but it clearly retained its peculiarity and was not simply a region or prefecture among the others. This study of Hokkaido is built on the premise that rather than being ahistorical and unchangeable entities, regions can be considered as spatial manifestations of social processes and they have to be conceptualised and analysed empirically as a part of the historical development of the society. It utilises the institutionalisation of region model when analysing how a region is constructed and how it is connected to the observable political, legal, social, economic, cultural, educational and administrative practices. The model consists of four interlocked stages (territorial shaping, symbolic shaping, institutional shaping, and establishment of region) that can be abstracted for analytical purposes and is tested here as a device to perceive the importance and understand relations between the various processes contributing to the making of the region.
• The role of international development strategies in making regional development policies: Hokkaido as a case study

  Juha Saunavaara

  Urbani Izziv 28 (2) 122 - 135 1855-8399 2017/12/01 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  During the past decades, national governments and international institutions have both searched for ways to equalise disparities and revitalise lagging regions. Although ideas and examples of the most effective ways to achieve these goals originate in various places, their influence is inclined to permeate elsewhere. Therefore, the processes involved in policy transfers are highly relevant from the perspective of regional development. This study approaches these processes through the case study of post-war Hokkaido and pays special attention to the role of three international development strategies: the Tennessee Valley Authority model, the Growth Pole Theory and the Industrial Cluster Theory. As a result, this research shows the wide variety of agents involved in policy transfer, analyses the processes of incorporating exogenous ideas into regional development polices and demonstrates the variety of sources from which different agents can draw lessons.
• The Changing Arctic & the Development of Hokkaido.

  Juha Saunavaara

  Arctic Yearbook 2017 326 - 338 2017 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• Enforced democratization in Japan: lessons for Iraq and Afghanistan

  Juha Saunavaara

  DEMOCRATIZATION 21 (6) 1074 - 1090 1351-0347 2014/09 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  Reconstruction of a society through foreign intervention has been a topical issue during recent years mainly because of the events that have taken place in Afghanistan and Iraq. These countries are facing an extrinsic pressure to undergo a series of social, political and economic reforms. While the prevailing interest is derived from ongoing occupations, notable attention has also been paid to corresponding experiences of the past. This has especially placed the Allied occupation of Japan under the spotlight. Despite the unique internal and external characteristics of the process that took place in Japan from 1945 to 1952, the political reconstruction of Japan can be utilized as a frame of reference against which the lessons drawn from the recent democratization processes can be reflected. This not only reveals the challenges and possibilities of the political reconstruction processes aiming at democracy, but also leads to the question as to whether the process of democratization can ever meet the demands of democracy if it is enforced by foreign occupiers. The experiences in Japan suggest that the utilization of nondemocratic practices and the period of pseudo-democracy do not rule out the possibility of the emergence of a genuine democracy.
• Postwar Development of Hokkaido: The U.S. Occupation Authorities’ Local Government Reform in Japan

  Juha Saunavaara

  Journal of American-East Asian Relations 21 (2) 2014 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• Triangle of Power - Relations between the Occupation Authorities, Conservative Politicians and Behind-the-Scenes Financiers in Postwar Japan

  Juha Saunavaara

  Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies 2011 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• Occupation Authorities, the Hatoyama Purge and the Making of Japan’s Postwar Political Order

  Juha Saunavaara

  The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus 2009 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• Multilevel relations in Japanese political parties at the beginning of the post-war period: Hokkaido as a case study

  Juha Saunavaara

  Contemporary Japan 27 (2) [Refereed][Not invited]
  

Books etc

• ”Japan Facing the Arctic and North: Interplay Between the National and Regional Interests”, In A. Likhacheva (Ed.) Arctic Fever: Political, Economic & Environmental Aspects. Palgrave Macmillan, 2022 pp. 393-428.

  Marina Lomaeva, Juha Saunavaara (Joint work)
  Palgrave Macmillan 2022/08 (ISBN: 9789811696152) 35
• New Marine Communication Cables in the Arctic. In J. D. Kim and C. E. Morrison (Eds.) Science, Technology and the Path Forward for a New Arctic. Papers from the 2021 North Pacific Arctic Conference

  Juha Saunavaara 
  Korea Maritime Institute and East-West Center 2022/08 9
• “Connecting the Arctic while installing submarine data cables between East Asia, North America and Europe” was recently published as a part of the book: M. Salminen, G. Zojer & K. Hossain (eds.), Digitalisation and Human Security – A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Cybersecurity in the European high North.

  Juha Saunavaara 
  Palgrave Macmillan 2020
• 北方開発―北海道の地域開発政策モデルとしてのフィンランドとオウル地方 In: 日本とフィンランドの出会いとつながりー１００年にわたる関係史

  Juha Saunavaara (Single work)
  大学教育出版社 2019/06
• 日本とフィンランドの出会いとつながりー１００年にわたる関係史

  Juha Saunavaara, Ojiro Suzuki (Editor)
  大学教育出版社 2019/06
• Suomi ja Japani: Kaukaiset mutta läheiset

  Juha Saunavaara, Laura Ipatti (Joint editor)
  Edita 2019/03
• Arctic Connect Project and cyber security control, ARCY

  Martti Lehto, Aarne Hummelholm, Katsuyoshi Iida, Tadas Jakstas, Martti J. Kari, Hiroyuki Minami, Fujio Ohnishi, Juha Saunavaara (Joint work)
  UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2019
• 占領期日本におけるアメリカ政治介入の想定外効果ー政治パージ計画と戦後日本指導層の形成 In, アジア太平洋地域の政治・社会・国際関係：歴史的発展と今後の展望 (杉田 米行 編著)

  Juha Saunavaara (Single work47 - 58)
  明石書店 2018 2018
• The Role of the Frontier: the GHQ/SCAP Economic Policies and Hokkaido. In Thomas French ed., The Economic and Business History of Occupied Japan: New Perspectives.

  Juha Saunavaara (Single work)
  Routledge 2018
• Commercial utilization of the Northern Sea Route and regional development policy – Hokkaido as a case study. In Kari Alenius & Matti Enbuske (eds.), The Barents and the Baltic Sea Region. Contacts, Influences and Social Change. Studia Historica Septentrio

  Juha Saunavaara (Single work)
  Pohjois-Suomen Historiallinen Yhdistys, Rovaniemi 2017. ISBN 978-952-9888-60-3. (386 s.) 2017/04
• GHQ/SCAP to sengo no seiji saiken – senryō keikaku ya seisaku ni okeru nihon hoshushugitachi

  Juha Saunavaara (Single work)
  Daigaku Kyōiku Shuppan 2015 

  https://www.kyoiku.co.jp/?d1=21&cmd=category_search&item_id=866&_page_no=6
• "The Unforeseen Effects of the American Intervention – The Political Purge Program and the Making of Japan's Postwar Leadership” in Yoneyuki Sugita ed., Japan Viewed from Interdisciplinary Perspectives: History and Prospect

  Juha Saunavaara (Contributor)
  Lanham, MD: Lexington Books 2015
• Nation-building. National Identity and the Wider World. Japan and Finland in Transition, 1945–1990

  Juha Saunavaara (Joint editor)
  Pohjois-Suomen historiallinen yhdistys 2010

Conference Activities & Talks

• Connecting the Arctic while installing submarine data cables between East Asia, North America and Europe?  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  University of Arctic Congress 2018  2018/09
• Submarine communications cables: A case study of Arctic decision-making and institutional development  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  Arctic Frontiers 2018  2018/01
• The Role of non-Arctic Regions in the Globalized Arctic  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  ISAR-5  2018/01
• Arctic Subsea Communications Cables and the Regional Development of Northern Peripheries  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  The 10th Polar Law Symposium  2017/11
• Can the Arctic offer a new platform or content for the cooperation between Japan and Finland?  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  ICASS IX  2017/06
• The Northern Sea Route, Trans-Arctic Fiber Cable and Hokkaido Regional Development  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  Slavic-Eurasia's Northern Tier: Finland, Russia, Japan, University of Helsinki  2017/03
• Hokkaido, Regional Economic Policy and the Occupation  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  The Economic and Business History of Occupied Japan, Ritsumeikan University  2015/06
• The unforseen effects of the American intervention – The political purge program and the making of Japan's postwar leadership  [Not invited]

  Juha Saunavaara

  Osaka University International Symposium: Interdisciplinary Perspectives for Asia-Pacific Region: History and Prospect  2014/02

Educational Activities

Teaching Experience