Teivo Teivainen is professor of World Politics at the University of Helsinki. Having received his PhD in 2000 at the University of Helsinki, Teivainen became the founding director of the Program on Democracy and Global Transformation at the National University of San Marcos, in Lima, Peru in 2003. In 2006, Teivainen was nominated as a full professor of the University of Helsinki. In his inaugural presentation on 30 May 2007, Teivainen demanded for open and analytical debate on the relationship between capitalism and democracy. He emphasized the problematic nature of capitalism analysis in Finland, which he saw partly as a result of the geopolitical position of Finland. In addition, he characterized the discipline of World Politics as a field that should take seriously the political nature of non-state actors such as transnational corporations and social movements. He is a member of editorial board in several scientific journals, including Critical Sociology, International Sociology Reviews, Pensares y Quehaceres, International Dialogue: A Multidisciplinary Journal of World Affairs and Globalizations. Career Teivainen's career has been both international and transdisciplinary. In Saint Mary's University in Canada, Teivainen has held the position of Distinguished Visiting Professor in development studies. In Peru he has served as a visiting professor at the department of economics in the Catholic University and at the department of sociology in the National University of San Marcos. His first significant academic position was as a visiting scholar at the sociology department of the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1988. Later he served as a visiting researcher at the Fernand Braudel Center of the same university. Teivainen has visited universities in dozens of countries for research and academic presentations. During 2001-2007 he worked as a researcher for the Academy of Finland. Teivainen has also served in the Governing Council of the International Studies Association, which is the most important association for International Relations and as the chairperson of International Political Economy Section of the ISA. He has held different positions in other international scholarly organizations such as the Latin American Studies Association. At the University of California Riverside Teivainen forms part of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Research on World-Systems. He is also international board member of academic journals such as Critical Sociology and Globalizations. Teivainen has also worked as expert and consultant for various organizations. In 2006 he worked as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the European