Meet the full Liberal Arts in Social Sciences teaching staff

Toni Čerkez is the Curator of the Liberal Arts in Social Sciences programme. Toni obtained his IB diploma from United World College in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he is from. He received his BA in Sociology, Anthropology and International Relations (IR) from a liberal arts university, Lake Forest College in May 2017 (magna cum laude). Since then, he has gone on to receive his MA degree in IR from Central European University in Hungary (with honors) and his PhD in International Politics from Aberystwyth University (minimal corrections).

Toni’s research lies at the intersection of international political sociology and international political theory. His focus is on the Anthropocene, technology and decolonial theory. In addition, Toni is interested in political theory, specifically the thought of Hannah Arendt, Günther Anders, Yuk Hui, and Bruno Latour, as well as the broader field of philosophy of technology. He speaks BCS and English fluently, in addition to being proficient in German and intermediate in Lithuanian.

Have a look at Toni's most recent article for E-IR on droned lives in Gaza and the world here.

Toni’s most recent article for International Political Sociology is here. If you would like to read the article, please reach out to Toni who can share it with you.

Please also find Toni’s Linkedin profile and ETIS profiles via the links.

Dr Birgit Poopuu is Professor of International Relations and the Head of the IR Master’s programme at Tallinn University. Birgit’s recent research has been curious about critical-relational perspectives on security, the solidarity between peripheral spaces, e.g., the Global East and South. Her main area of expertise is in critical peace and conflict studies, and her key research interests include knowing IR from revolutionary perspectives, the different types of violence and their role in holding us hostage to a violent world, the purchase of nonviolence in creating change, the politics of knowledge production.

Birgit is an editor at the Journal of International Relations and Development (JIRD). She is the Principal Investigator of the Horizon Twinning project “A critical relational perspective on peace & security in CEE”, and the co-director of the Central and Eastern European Security Hub (CEEShub).

Birgit can be found on LinkedIn.

Have a look at Birgit’s contribution on the war in Ukraine (co-authored with Eret Talviste):“Wars do not stand in isolation from each other, they are linked by violent structures”

Read also Birgit’s recent major publication Handbook of Knowledge and Expertise in International Politics (Oxford University Press, 2025) exploring the politics of knowledge production in world politics (co-edited with Berit Bliesemann de Guevara, Katarzyna Kaczmarska, Xymena Kurowska and Andrea Warnecke).

Dr Walter Rech is Research Professor of Legal Philosophy and Legal Theory at Tallinn University. Walter is an interdisciplinary scholar conducting research at the intersection of law, philosophy, politics and history. His interdisciplinary approach is grounded on the idea that bringing together diverse intellectual perspectives helps achieve a better understanding of a world characterised by deep and complex entanglements. Walter has broad thematic interests and has published e.g. on issues of war and security; current challenges to the rule of law; the role of the philosophy of history in legal and political discourse; and the nature of certain legal, political and ethical concepts, such as ‘enemy’, ‘evil’ and ‘subject’. 

Walter is on LinkedIn.

Read his article on Indirect Aggression and the North Atlantic Treaty

Walter's piece on targeted killing is a must, see here: Is it Legal? Is it Useful? Some Questions on Targeted Killing

Dr Benjamin Klasche is Associate Professor of International Relations, the Head of the International Relations Department, and Co-Director of the Central and Eastern European Security Hub (CEEShub). Ben’s research focuses on critical-relational theorizing, human security and peace and climate governance and how all these things are deeply intertwined. I am also keenly interested in colonial history, post-colonial and post-socialist theories, and the politics of knowledge production, which lead me to questions about global solidarity between the Global South and the Global East.

You can follow Ben on LinkedIn.

Read Ben’s and Birgit’s contribution to relational theory in International Studies Quarterly where they explore the question “What Relations Matter”?

Also check out Ben’s essay on Estonia’s part in the economy of genocide of the Palestinians of Gaza in one of Estonia’s leading cultural magazine SIRP. The English version can be found here.

Pille Petersoo is a lecturer of sociology. Pille studied sociology and political science at the University of Tartu, followed by a MSc in Nationalism Studies, a PhD in Sociology and an ESRC post-doc at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

She currently teaches introduction to sociology, national identity and nationalism, qualitative research methods, as well as sociology of food and eating.

Tõnis Saarts has a background in both political science and sociology. He has focused on comparative politics, political sociology, and historical sociology. More specifically, his research interests have concentrated primarily on political parties, party systems, social cleavages and the multiple challenges contemporary political parties have in modern democracies (the rise of populism, party system cartelization, etc.). He has also been interested in democratization in Central and Eastern Europe, where he has primarily focused on the Baltic States in a comparative perspective. His great passion has been historical sociology, in which he has studied the formation of modern democracy and statehood from a historical perspective. Saarts has also been active in the public sphere, in which he has written numerous media articles and provided media commentaries on the developments in Estonian politics for many well-known international media outlets.

Dr. Kadri Aavik is Associate Professor of Gender Studies and Head of the Sociology MA programme in the School of Governance, Law and Society. She holds a PhD in Sociology (Tallinn University, 2015) and an MA in Gender Studies (Central European University, 2007). From 2018-2022 she conducted postdoctoral research at the Gender Studies unit at the University of Helsinki. She works in critical animal studies, vegan sociology, gender and feminist studies and their intersections. She uses qualitative research methods and intersectional perspectives.

Kadri is co-editor of the Estonian Gender Studies Journal Ariadne Lõng.

She regularly writes in the Estonian media on issues of gender equality, animal rights and sustainability.

 

Her recent publications include:

For more information on Kadri’s research, please see her profile on ETIS or Google Scholar.

Carlo Cubero holds a PhD in Social Anthropology using Visual Media from the University of Manchester, where he specialised in the contemporary Caribbean and Visual Anthropology. 

One strand of his research has focused on developing audiovisual methods for anthropological research. He have produced numerous documentaries and sound works that have been screened at film festivals, conferences, and television. He have also served in the film selection committees of many anthropological film programmes in Europe (EASA, SIEF, FAS). He currently serve in the curating team of the Riga Pasaules Film Festival, an annual documentary film festival held in Riga

Another strand of his research concerns itself with the complexities of Caribbean island life. His book Caribbean Island Movements: Culebra's Trans-insularities (Rowman and Littlefield 2017) makes a case for the concept of "transinsularism" as a means to engage productively with the contradictions that characterise Caribbean island identities. The book describes transinsular relationships within the context of anti-military grassroots activism, tourism and development policies, maritime geography, and music. The monograph is based on a long term relationship with the island of Culebra, located in the north-eastern Caribbean. 

More details can be found on Carlo’s Academia and ETIS profiles.

Catlyn Kirna is from Estonia and taught both at Tallinn University and Tartu University. She teaches introductions to international relations and European Union but also courses related to her own interests such as foreign policy, regionalism and interdisciplinary issues. She is both finishing her PhD and working on her third master’s degree (in education technology). Catlyn’s previous degrees are international relations from the University of Tartu and a translation degree from Tallinn University.

Check out the one minute lecture "Why Are Small States Awesome?" by Catlyn Kirna.

Dr Timothy Raymond Anderson is a Lecturer in International Relations and a critical anthropologist of state power and belonging. His research investigates the procedural and ethical contradictions of state practice, asking how grand geopolitical narratives translate into the lived experience of borders and bureaucracy. He is the originator of the theory of ‘civilizational citizenship’, an award winning concept that explains how liberal states manage belonging in an age of geopolitical anxiety. Timothy’s work bridges critical theory with practical policy engagement, drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork and prior experience in policy advising and global health data analysis. He is a core member of the Horizon Europe-funded Central and Eastern European Security Hub (CEEShub).

More details can be found on Timothy’s LinkedIn and ETIS profiles.

Dr Anderson is currently on a 2-year leave for his MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Amsterdam

Dr Marianna Lovato is a Lecturer in International Relations at Tallinn University. Her research interests revolve around European foreign and security policy, informality in global governance, and relational approaches to international cooperation. Her monograph, Making EU Foreign Policy Go Around: The Significance of Informality for the Survival of Multilateralism, is forthcoming with Bristol University Press.

Marianna is Associate Editor at European Security.

Read Marianna's piece on the relational effects of Brexit on European foreign policy cooperation.

Check out how Marianna thinks political (in)stability shapes Italy's influence in the European Union.

Marianna can be found on LinkedIn.

 

Dr Halliki Kreinin is an early-career researcher and visiting lecturer in International Relations at Tallinn University. Halliki received an MA in International Relations (with Honours, 2014) from the University of St Andrews, as well as an MSc Socio-Ecological Economics and Policy (with Distinction, 2018) and a PhD in Social and Economic Sciences (with Distinction, 2022) from the Vienna University of Economics and Business. She has worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Münster, Chair for International Relations and Sustainable Development (2022-2023), Senior Researcher at RIFS Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (2024-2025) as a coordinator for the EU 1.5 Lifestyles project, and as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Tallinn University (2026-ongoing) as part of the SustainERA project.

Her research interests span degrowth and social-ecological transformation, with a focus on transforming work, sustainable welfare states and demand reduction. Her long-time secret research passion is temporality, time-use and breaking free from the domination of abstract labour time.

Halliki is an elected board member of the European Society for Ecological Economics (2024-2027).

She was also a Lead Author on Chapter 6: Climate governance: Political, legal, economic and societal aspects of the 2025 Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC) Assessment report on climate change in Austria (AAR2).

You can find a list of her publications on ETIS, ORCID, and Google Scholar.

She is also on LinkedIn (and occasionally tries to spread information to a younger audience on Instagram and Tiktok).

Dr Moara Crivelente is an early-career researcher and visiting lecturer in International Relations at Tallinn University. She received her PhD in IR – International Politics and Conflict Resolution (with praise and distinction, 2024) and her MA degree in Peace, Security, and Development Studies (2022) from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, as well as an Advanced Degree in Communication of Social and Armed Conflicts from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). She has also worked as a Junior and Postdoctoral Researcher in two EU-Horizon projects at the Center for Social Studies (CES), “MEDIATIZED EU” and “PROTEST” (2021-2026).

Moara’s research and practice bridge political theory, historical materialism, critical participatory methods, and Global South. She is active in academic and transnational networks with social movements, political parties, national liberation movements, governments and intergovernmental groups, such as BRICS. A director of a Brazilian peace organization, she has coordinated solidarity work across continents around human rights and self-determination, including in the United Nations.

Moara is preparing a book about the self-determination strategies of the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara for publication with Brill-DeGruyter and has a forthcoming chapter (2026) titled “Researching for Transformation: The Praxis of Intellectual Responsibility and Solidarity Towards Liberation Struggles”, in Radical Positions in Research, edited by Ali Jones & Magdalena McGlinchey.

Her publications are available on Academia, ORCID and Google Scholar.

She is also on LinkedIn.

Kevin Molloy is a Junior Research Fellow at Tallinn University, where he conducts his PhD research within the Central and Eastern European Security Hub (CEEShub) as part of the European Horizon Twinning Project “A Critical Relational Perspective on Peace & Security in CEE.” He also teaches English at the School of Humanities. With a background in anthropology and filmmaking and current studies in international relations, Kevin’s interdisciplinary work combines visual, spatial, and ethnographic approaches to explore how borders and spaces are lived in everyday life. His films have been screened at over twenty international festivals and conferences, and his research focuses on everyday bordering through a critical-relational lens.

His recent 360-degree audiovisual installation, “Moments in an Ordinary Night,” exhibited at the Estonian National Museum as part of “Kellele kuulub öö?”, explored how people have experienced and imagined the night in Estonian cities.

Explore Kevin’s ethnographic narrative photo essay, “Visual Field Testing,” which highlights how spatial relations shape social experience through everyday movements and encounters.

Victor Jimenez is a junior research fellow in International Relations at Tallinn University. His research focuses on issues of corruption and state capture in Serbia and their relationship with the process of European integration in the Western Balkan region. His theoretical contributions center on radical relationism and green extractivism, investigating the intersection of political, economic, environmental, and institutional relations in the region as exemplary of the double exclusion faced by semiperipheral societies in the Global East. He is a Tallinn University alumnus, having graduated from the Bachelor’s program "Liberal Arts in Social Sciences" and the Master’s program "International Relations"with cum laude honors.

Victor can be found on ORCID and on ResearchGate.

Luise G. Domina is a junior research fellow in the Department of International Relations, working at the intersection of International Relations, Conflict Studies, and Critical Criminology. Their research examines the international relations of non-state armed actors through a critical-relational lens, focusing on the interconnectedness of paramilitaries, insurgent formations, and violent criminal organisations with one another and with states, militaries, local societies, diasporas, and their natural surroundings.

Luise’s theoretical interests centre on relational conceptualisations of ideology, violent behaviour, and clandestine resource flows. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Leipzig and an MA in International Organisations and Crisis Management from the University of Jena, where their research on paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland sparked this current research agenda. She has also worked in advocacy on surveillance and digital rights and contributed to refugee, youth, and press freedom initiatives.

 

Dr. Kadri Aavik is Associate Professor of Gender Studies and Head of the Sociology MA programme in the School of Governance, Law and Society. She holds a PhD in Sociology (Tallinn University, 2015) and an MA in Gender Studies (Central European University, 2007). From 2018-2022 she conducted postdoctoral research at the Gender Studies unit at the University of Helsinki. She works in critical animal studies, vegan sociology, gender and feminist studies and their intersections. She uses qualitative research methods and intersectional perspectives. Her recent publications include: Contesting Anthropocentric Masculinities: Lived Experiences of Vegan Men (Palgrave, 2023), Routledge Handbook on Men, Masculinities and Organizations: Theories, Practices and Futures of Organizing (Routledge, 2024, co-edited with Jeff Hearn, David Collinson and Anika Thym) and the double special issue ‘Men, masculinities and the planet at the end of (m)Anthropocene’, (NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 2025-2026, co-edited with Jeff Hearn, Martin Hultman and Tamara Shefer).

Kadri is co-editor of the Estonian Gender Studies Journal Ariadne Lõng.

She regularly writes in the Estonian media on issues of gender equality, animal rights and
sustainability.

For more information on Kadri’s research, please see her profile on ETIS or Google Scholar.