Pasi Tuunainen grew up observing the academic career of his researcher father and decided that he would never become one himself. Yet, today, he is one of Finland’s leading military historians and a newly appointed professor.
Long standing military historian highlights the importance of geography in warfare
The Arctic is a focal point in today’s global politics. Pasi Tuunainen, the University of Eastern Finland’s new Professor of Modern History, points out that although technology and surveillance capabilities relating to the northern regions have evolved over the decades, geography still matters in warfare.
“My research has and will continue to provide insight into how challenging the northern military theatre is, how terrain and weather conditions still need to be taken into account in warfare, and how these can be turned to one’s advantage.”
Crises and conflicts stand at the core of Tuunainen’s professorship. He says that studying past crises helps us understand the causes of new wars, and warfare itself.
“There is much to be learnt from past conflicts. Despite technological advances, the significance of surprise, for example, has not changed over millennia.”
International interest in the history of Finnish art of war
Tuunainen’s research focuses on the art of war and the role of geography in warfare. As a researcher, he is especially interested in the Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939–1940 and his studies on, for example, the encirclement tactics, or motti tactics, employed by the Finns have gained international recognition.
“International academic circles are fascinated by how a small country like Finland managed, against all odds, to wage a defensive war and resist the invasion. For example, the Battle of Raate Road is discussed in military schools in Brazil and the United States.”
Tuunainen has conducted extensive research on the Battle of Ilomantsi, which was fought in late summer 1944, and he has co authored a biography of Major General Erkki Raappana, who commanded the battle. The Battle of Ilomantsi is used in various military academies as an example of how encirclement manoeuvres can be performed in difficult terrain.
“For me, this battle is the one closest to my heart. I have written and lectured about it extensively and I have guided international groups of visitors at the battlefield sites.”
A sharper picture of the role of geography in Arctic warfare
Funded by the Research Council of Finland, the latest project by Tuunainen and his team, A Challenging Arctic Battlefield, delves into the history and legacy of the northernmost front of the Second World War.
“Geography dictated military operations in the Lapland region. The Germans were neither prepared nor trained for Arctic conditions, which meant they could not operate effectively. The Finns, the Soviets and to some extent also the Norwegians were in a better position, on their home turf.”
The project focuses on the Lapland region and combines traditional military history with geospatial research and conflict archaeology.
“Conflict archaeologists search the terrain for remnants and structures of warfare. Researchers using geospatial methods collect data with drones and produce aerial images that they compare with archival material.”
According to Tuunainen, combining the approaches and methods of different disciplines sharpens the picture we have of the importance of geography in Arctic warfare.
“In this kind of research, it is possible to use artificial intelligence to develop, for example, automated detection of warfare related sites.”
In a way, I’ve grown up alongside the university.
Pasi Tuunainen
Professor of Modern History
A detour to a dream career in military history
Tuunainen’s academic career as a historian emerged through an unexpected detour. After finishing general upper secondary school, he planned a career as a professional soldier, and history was only his second option.
This detour led to a significant academic career with nearly 140 scientific publications so far, most of them authored alone. Nine of them are books, with the latest one coming out later this year. As his principal work, Tuunainen regards the 2016 book Finnish Military Effectiveness in the Winter War, 1939–1940.
“The book is a synthesis of 20 years of research, aimed at the international scientific community.”
Tuunainen has received several awards for his publications. His extensive body of research has been authored at the University of Eastern Finland, where he began his studies in history in 1987. A passion for military history and the university’s favourable conditions for research have kept him in Joensuu all these years, in his dream job.
“I have worked at the university for nearly 30 years, and not once has it felt difficult to go to work in the morning. After all, I get to pursue my beloved hobby.”
Deeply rooted on the Joensuu Campus
Tuunainen first set foot on the Joensuu Campus in 1969 when his father, Kari Tuunainen, a long standing Professor of Special Education at the University of Joensuu, began working as a temporary lecturer at the newly established university.
“My father worked at the university across five decades before retiring in the early 2000s. He was the second person to earn a doctorate from the university in 1979. I myself was the university’s first second generation doctoral graduate in 2001.”
As a child, Tuunainen lived in a building on the campus grounds which later housed, among other things, the university’s printing office.
“The area that is today the site of Joensuu Teacher Training School was our playground, and we knew everyone who worked at the university.”
The old main building, Educa, was also a playground for Tuunainen and his brother.
“In the early 1970s, we would storm my father’s lectures dressed as cowboys and shouting ‘hands up!’. Perttu Vartiainen, the first Rector of the University of Eastern Finland, often reminded me of this. He was a student at the time.”
The university in Joensuu, which at the time of its establishment had only nine employees, has grown into a campus of around 1,500 people working there today.
“In a way, I’ve grown up alongside the university. I appreciate the current departmental structure, and my home department, the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, is a natural setting for research across disciplinary boundaries.”
Pasi Tuunainen
- Professor of Modern History, specializing in crises and conflicts, 1 November 2025–
- PhD, University of Joensuu, 2001
- Lic. Phil., University of Joensuu, 1993
- MA, University of Joensuu, 1993
- Title of Docent in Military History, University of Eastern Finland, 2009
- Title of Docent in the History of Art of War, Finnish National Defence University, 2008
- Title of Docent in Military History, University of Oulu, 2005
Key roles and awards
- Senior Assistant in History, University of Joensuu, 1996–2006
- Lecturer in History, University of Joensuu, 2006–2009
- University Lecturer in History, University of Eastern Finland, 2010–2025
- Vice Chair of the Association for Military History in Finland, 2019–
- West Point Fellow, United States Military Academy, 2009
- Four research and book awards, one honourable mention.
