Eva Piirimäe
Eva Piirimäe (née Mikelsaar; born 19 June 1974) is an Estonian political theorist and intellectual historian. She is a professor of political theory at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu, and serves as programme director for political science. Since September 2024, she has been professor of political theory and head of the doctoral specialisation in political science.
Academic career
Piirimäe received her PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2006 with a dissertation titled Thomas Abbt (1738–1766) and the Philosophical Genesis of German Nationalism, supervised by István Hont.
Visiting appointments and academic service
Piirimäe was a Visiting Scholar at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University (September–November 2016). She was also Juris Padegs Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University (academic year 2016–17).
Research
Piirimäe’s research focuses on the history of political thought, including theories of nationalism, sovereignty, and self-determination. Her monograph Herder and Enlightenment Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2023) examines Johann Gottfried Herder’s political thought in the context of eighteenth-century debates on commerce, peace, and reform. The book has been reviewed in academic venues including History of European Ideas.
Awards and honours
- 2025: Baltic Assembly Prize in Science (for Herder and Enlightenment Politics).
- Winner (2023): István Hont Book Prize (announced 2024) (for Herder and Enlightenment Politics).
In the media
Piirimäe has been cited in Estonian public media in her capacity as a professor of political theory at the University of Tartu, including commentary related to academic publishing and open access.
External links
- Eva Piirimäe at the University of Tartu
- Eva Piirimäe at the Estonian Research Information System (ETIS)