Joonas S. Martikainen

I work on political philosophy and democratic theory, focusing on phenomena such as political poverty, the loss of political agency, and the broader social conditions of political liberty. I make use of a variety of approaches, such as political phenomenology, contemporary critical social and political theory, and theories of deliberative and radical democracy. I also teach political philosophy and theory. I am currently working with the Agency as Experience and Capacity: Social Mechanisms, Political Implications project (2025–2029) at University of Turku. I was previously with the HARMAA - Indirect Philosophy as a Form of Resistance workgroup (www.harmaa.org), funded by the Kone Foundation.

I'm mainly interested in the pre-cognitive, affective aspects of political freedom. My current book project "Political Poverty: Losing Faith in Democracy" explores ways that contemporary democratic societies keep some groups from being able to perceive political engagement as meaningful, leading to being unable to effectively participate in democratic processes while remaining ostensibly included in them. I thematize the experience of freedom as flowing from a relationship of faith in oneself and the possibility of politics making a difference, as opposed to freedom being a possession or an attribute of the will. I received my Doctorate in Social Sciences in Practical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki in 2021.