My name is Maria Ackrén and I was born and raised on the Åland Islands in Finland. I have also been living in Sundsvall, Sweden and in Turku, Finland due to studies. I took my BA degree in Political Science at mid-Sweden University in Sundsvall in 1999 and then I moved back to Finland to take my MA degree in Political Science in 2002 at Åbo Akademi University in Turku. After that I continued with a Ph.D. at the same institution (ÅA) and this was accomplished back in 2009.
During my studies I was on an Erasmus exchange at University of Bremen in Germany and as Ph.D.-student I was on exchange to University of Prince Edward Islands in Canada. I moved to Greenland in 2011, where I worked as Associate Professor and full Professor of Political Science until 2026. From May 2026 I moved to Stefansson Arctic Institute at the University of Akureyri in Akureyri, Iceland to take up the role as new Director.
My tasks as Director for Stefansson Arctic Institute is to take care of the day-to-day tasks and build up a thriving research community for Arctic research. We are already launching Akureyri as the hub for Arctic research in Iceland together with other institutes and organizations, which are all linked to the University of Akureyri.
My research interests are focused on autonomy regimes in the world, island studies, regional parties and international relations within the Arctic. I am also interested in comparative methods. My recent research is about Greenlandic foreign- and security policy, crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic, natural resource management in the Arctic, and Nordic cooperation.
For more information you can reach me at my e-mail: ackren@unak.is or find more information at Stefansson Arctic Institute‘s website: https://www.svs.is/en/moya/extras/1/maria-ackren
Selected recent publications include:
Maria Ackrén (2026). ‘Greenland and COVID-19: Small Resources, Delayed Transmission, and Trust’, pp. 129-147 in Ásthildur Elva Bernhardsdóttir and Baldur Thorallsson (eds.): Nordic Crisis Management. Well-Performing Governance During COVID-19. Palgrave Macmillan: Cham, Switzerland.
Maria Ackrén (2025). Foreign Policy in Greenland – 20 Years of Development. London and New York: Routledge: Polar Regions Series.
Felix Schulte, Matthias Scantamburlo and Maria Ackrén (2025). ‘Lost autonomy triggers and the rise of secessionism’, European Political Science Review. ECPR Best Paper Award 2024 for the Network’s section “Advances in the Study of Statehood, Sovereignty and Conflict”. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european–political–science–review/article/lost–autonomy–triggersand–the–rise–of–secessionism/33C784B42B3DB6CCE96007B76DFCA4A0 (First view 17 December 2025).
M. Ackrén, N. Hokkala, P. Lægreid, E. Palmujoki, A. Trengereid, Á. E. Bernhardsdóttir, M. Koraeus, R. Olavson, B. Thorhallsson and K. Vrangbæk (2025). ‘The effect of size and the Nordic states’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: Reactive or proactive?’, Small States & Territories, 8(2): 389-408. Available at: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/140527/1/The_effect_of_size_and_the_Nordic_states%e2%80%99_responses_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic_Reactive_or.pdf
Maria Ackrén (2024). ‘The natural resource management in Nunavut and Greenland – A perspective through historical institutionalism’, The Polar Journal, 14(1): 89-108 (Special Issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/2154896X.2024.2342121
Rasmus Leander Nielsen and Maria Ackrén (2024). ‘The Second Foreign and Security Policy Opinion Poll in Greenland’. Nuuk: Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland. Available at: https://da.uni.gl/media/4bwb5ict/survey-report-leander_ackre-n_final.pdf
