I received my PhD at LSE in 1997. Since then, I have worked at University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University. In 2012, I was appointed as a Professor of Political Science at University of Turku. I have made research visits at Columbia University, Australian National University and University of Westminster. I have been the Principal Investigator of the projects "Participation in Long-Term Decision-Making" (PALO) (2017-2022) and "Facing Systemic Change Together" (2021-2024), both funded by The Research Council of Finland. In May 2025, I started as a co-PI in the ERC Synergy project “Advancing Digital Democratic Innovation” (ADDI, 2025-2031) Home - ADDI. I am currently also a wp leader in projects Flaire (2023-2028) Home page and Sincrony (2023-2027) Sincrony |

More information can be found at Front page | Research group for innovating democracy

In my research, I specialize in democratic theories, especially theories of deliberative democracy, political trust, as well as various types of democratic innovations such as citizens' initiatives and deliberative mini-publics. I have published widely on these topics. I have also interest in future-regarding policy-making, which was the topic of the recent co-edited book Democracy and the Future (Michael MacKenzie, Maija Setälä and Simo Kyllönen (eds), Edinburgh University Press 2023).

In my recent and ongoing research projects, I have focused on the role of citizen deliberation in climate and energy transitions, as well as issues of inclusion in deliberative forums. Currently, I focus on the prospects and pitfalls of the use of AI in citizen participation and deliberation.

I teach courses on democratic theory, democratic innovations, and issues of long-term governance. I supervise Master's and PhD students in political science. From August 2026 onwards, I will be on a research leave and focus on my projects.