Joonas S. Martikainen

Hello! I am a researcher in critical social and political theory. 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'm mainly interested in the pre-cognitive, affective aspects of political freedom. My book project "Political Poverty: Distrust, Demoralization, and Loss of Faith" explores the ways that contemporary democratic societies the ways that people can become informally disenfranchised and unable to effectively participate in democratic processes while remaining ostensibly included in them. My current research project "Feeling Like a Citizen" investigates the emotional and affective basis of citizenship, focusing on its enabling conditions such as trust, solidarity, and sharing a common world. I received my Doctorate in Social Sciences in Practical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki in 2021.

I am currently a guest postdoc researcher at the Center for Subjectivity Research (CFS) at the University of Copenhagen. I am also affiliated with the discipline of Practical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki.

This site is hosted on Neocities, in opposition to, and as an alternative to exploitative social media platforms. I am committed to making internet about fun, freedom and discovery again, the principles behind what we knew as Web 1.0.