Biography
Timo Kivimäki is Professor of international relations with particular expertise in peace and conflict studies at the University of Bath. Previously he has held professorships at the University of Helsinki, University of Lapland, and at the University of Copenhagen. Professor Kivimäki has also been director of the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (Copenhagen) and the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Helsinki. In addition to purely academic work Professor Kivimäki has been a frequent consultant to the Finnish, Danish, Dutch, Russian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Swedish governments, as well as to several UN and EU organizations on conflict and terrorism. He was President Martti Ahtisaari’s (mediators) adviser in the Aceh peace talks, and the initiator of the West Kalimantan peace process, led by Indonesia’s Vice President, Jusuf Kalla. Dr Kivimäki’s book, Can Peace Research Make Peace? was published by Ashgate in 2012.
’In one fell swoop, backed by impressive data sets, Professor Timo Kivimaki methodically and empirically destroyed all arguments, and one might add, theoretical pretences about Asian Pacific Way or the ASEAN way. The results are clarity, irrefutability and sheer analytical precision; rather than mere belief in constructivism or culture as the predisposition of the region. Incidents of war are almost non-existent in East Asia. Those who believe that wars in the region are still thinkable have to face these evidences head on.’ Phar Kim Beng, CEO Foundation of Research on Transformation, Malaysia ’Based on the experience of East Asia, this book develops peace research and political science generally by revealing several weaknesses in the theory of peace. The book is a remarkable and impressive achievement.’ Lang Youxing, Zhejiang University, China
