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 (highest grade).
Toni’s research is in relational and critical theories of IR, with a specific focus on Anthropocene studies, political ontology of technology (predictive algorithms, AI and cybernetics), cosmological approaches and de-colonial knowledge(s) in IR. 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.
Dr Benjamin Klasche (Germany) is a Lecturer for Political Science and International Studies at the School of Governance, Law and Society at Tallinn University and a Kone Foundation Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Dr Klasche is an International Relations scholar at heart but often draws insights from Sociology and Governance sciences. He defended his PhD in 2021 at Tallinn University with a distinction (Dealing with Global Crises: A Processual-Relational Approach to Studying and Governing Wicked Problems), and holds an MA (cum laude) in International Relations from Tallinn University and a BA in History from the University of Bonn. His main research interests are in relational theory, de-colonization of the social sciences, and the governance of wicked problems (e.g., the Climate Crisis, Migration Crises, Pandemics). He has published in International Relations, International Review of Sociology and International Studies. His forthcoming monograph (co-authored with Peeter Selg and Georg Sootla) A Relational Approach to Governing Wicked Problems will be published by Palgrave MacMillan.
Have a look at Dr Klasche’s recent contribution on Germany’s reaction to the War in Ukraine: “What is Wrong with Germany?”
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.
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.
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.
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. Her main research interests include gender and gender inequalities in various spheres of life, critical animal studies (including human-animal relations from critical sociological perspectives, animal advocacy and vegan movements, ecofeminism). She uses qualitative methods and intersectional perspectives. Kadri coordinates the activities of the Gender Studies Research Group at Tallinn University.
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 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).