Statement on the Rising Threats to Universities and Academic Freedom Worldwide

The Central and Eastern European International Studies Association (CEEISA) stands in solidarity with the growing number of colleagues and students facing violent attacks and increasing restrictions on academic freedoms worldwide. 

The situation is particularly dire in conflict zones, where universities and scholarly communities face severe physical attacks or even extinction. In Gaza, as of January 2025, 12,119 students and 498 educational staff were killed, while 51 university buildings were destroyed and 57 damaged, according to a UN report. In Ukraine, as of March 2024, according to the most recent estimates, 21% of higher education institutions and 31% of research institutions have been damaged or destroyed due to the Russian invasion. While these two conflicts are the most visible in global media, violent attacks on educational institutions, and their military use as bases, firing positions, or weapons storage are increasing in many other parts of the world, including in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, and Syria, according to the 2024 Education Under Attack report. In some countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, female students and teachers are particularly targeted to prevent them from getting or providing an education. In others, such as Azerbaijan and Russia, academics are often targeted in smear campaigns and held as political prisoners due to their anti-war activism.

Beyond conflict zones, academic freedoms are shrinking in both authoritarian and democratic contexts alike, as documented in the Scholars at Risk 2024 report. The number of people living in countries without academic freedom has been on the rise since 2006, reaching a staggering 45.5% of the global population, according to the 2024 Academic Freedom Index. Authoritarian regimes in Russia, China, Iran, and Nicaragua have intensified their attacks on scholars and students for criticizing government policies. 

Academic freedom is under threat in many democracies as well. In several Western countries, scholars who criticized the Israeli occupation and violence in Gaza lost their jobs, and events and lectures were cancelled. Some protests involved violence and Anti-Semitic or Islamophobic slogans and messages—resulting in a deeply polarized campus atmosphere marked by fear and, in some cases, violent clashes. Meanwhile, several backsliding hybrid regimes, including India, Hungary and Serbia, have increased pressure on university autonomy, targeting dissenting professors and students.  

Our primary regional focus is Central and Eastern Europe. However, as scholars of international studies, we cannot remain silent in the face of violence perpetrated against our colleagues in and beyond our region and the global erosion of academic freedom. We therefore condemn this violence and express our solidarity with colleagues affected by the oppression of academic freedom in the world. To that end, CEEISA will consider the following actions:

• Earmarking additional resources for travel grants to our conferences and PhD network events for scholars at risk.

• Encouraging the creation of an Academic Freedom Committee, mandated to document violations of academic freedom and protect scholars at risk, beginning with but not limited to CEEISA members.

• Exploring an option to publish a journal special issue and/or an edited volume on violence against universities, professors and students, the shrinking of academic freedom, and the need for solidarity and activism among scholars in international relations.

• Providing collegial and financial support to scholars facing persecution or displacement. To that end, CEEISA will seek to partner with charities.

We also call upon our members, as well as the wider scholarly community engaged in international studies in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, to express solidarity not only in words but also in actions to support scholars and students at risk worldwide.

The Executive Council of CEEISA

January 2025

Call for Workshops: 12th European Workshops in International Studies - Jagiellonian University in Krakow (2 - 4 July 2025). (Deadline 18 NOVEMBER 2024)

Workshops theme:
Hybrid, liminal, ambiguous? International politics ‘in-between’  

The European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS), launched by the EISA in 2013, have fast established themselves as a spirited place for the European IR community to engage in sustained, in-depth discussion with a diverse range ofpeers from various institutions, countries, disciplines and career stages. EWIS has proven to be a popular and productive format, perfect for preparing special issues, edited volumes or exploring new ideas, themes and directions in a vibrant and friendly atmosphere. 

The European International Studies Association (EISA) invites workshop proposals for EWIS 2025, which will take place at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow on 2-4 July 2025. The European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS), launched by the EISA in 2013, have fast established themselves as a spirited place for the European IR community to engage in sustained, in-depth discussion with a diverse range of peers from various institutions, countries, disciplines and career stages. EWIS has proven to be a popular and productive format, perfect for preparing special issues, edited volumes or exploring new ideas, themes and directions in a vibrant and friendly atmosphere. 

EWIS 2025 will take place in Krakow, Poland, at a time when global politics is increasingly characterised by multi-scalar and multidimensional challenges that defy neat categorical distinctions. Although International Relations has long grappled with the question of hybridity, today’s key concerns for IR scholars combine questions of sovereignty, territoriality, power, war, capital, the politics of knowledge, and technology in ever more intertwined and elusive ways. International organisations are increasingly compelled to think holistically about the scope of the problems and their solutions. States and non-state actors alike are employing hybrid strategies to deal with formal and informal conflicts, while Artificial Intelligence is touted as both a possible threat to international security and a technological solution to such threats. At the same time, events such as the Russian invasion(s) of Ukraine, the escalation of Israel’s war on Gaza, the spread of far-right movements across the globe, or the many aftermaths of the global financial crisis make it increasingly difficult to delineate clear temporal boundaries between conflict and peace, democracy and authoritarianism, or economic crisis and recovery. Thinking in terms of liminality, alongside hybridity or ambiguity, encourages us to see all these events and processes as in flux, unfinished, and thus offering the potential for reversing hierarchies and power structures.   

Hence, the 12th iteration of EWIS at Jagiellonian University invites EISA members to consider the implications of hybrid, transitional, or borderline conditions for the study of international politics. We are particularly interested in workshop proposals that seek to interrogate the meaning of ‘in-between’ at a time when much international politics seem to be happening in spaces, times and matters that can be characterized as such. How does a focus on the ‘in-between’ change our perspective on global issues ranging from war and cooperation to climate change, economic transformation, imperialism, migration, postcoloniality, and patriarchal regimes? What pressing themes in international studies can be productively addressed through such a framework? What can international studies contribute to an interdisciplinary dialogue on hybridity, transition or liminality? What kind of methodologies open space for collaborations in-between paradigms, and disciplines? We invite submissions tackling these and related questions falling under this year’s theme and touching the hybrid, liminal or ambiguous ‘in-between’ texture of current international politics. 

Venue 

EWIS 2025 will be organised at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków – Poland’s oldest higher education institution (founded in 1364), one of the most prominent academic centers with access to world-class education and a key academic hub in Eastern Europe. The university is situated in the heart of the city, allowing easy access to the medieval old town’s rich history and its youthful and vibrant nightlife. Easily reachable by air and land (Kraków International Airport is the second busiest in Poland and is well-serviced by major European airlines), Kraków is renowned for its rich cultural heritage and is often seen as the heart of Polish history. Yet, it also pulsates with the energy of a contemporary, innovative academic community. Kraków’s old city, with its labyrinth of historic streets, majestic churches, and academic institutions, is a living testament to its rich history and its enduring legacy as a center of learning and culture in Europe. The vibrant student life and the city’s rich history create a unique atmosphere where tradition meets modernity, making Kraków a true academic city. 

Submission Deadline 

We invite colleagues to submit 500-word workshop proposals with an extended list of potential participants and their paper topics by 18 November 2024. We intend to have workshops with up to 20 participants. 

We are seeking proposals for workshops relevant to the EWIS 2025 theme, but are also happy to consider proposals that explore other topics in International Studies. 

Submission Instructions 

All proposals should be submitted through the form. Please refer to the button below:

SUBMIT WORKSHOP PROPOSAL

The proposals should include the following: 

1. Workshop title, description of the proposed workshop topic and its relevance (max. 500 words) 

2. An indication of possible paper topics and potential participants (1–2 pages) 

3. A short biography of each workshop convenor (max. 1 page each) 

One can be listed as (co-)convenor for maximum one workshop. 

Workshop convenors must be EISA members at the time of submission. 

The submission form will ask for your membership number. To find this number, please log in to the membership portal https://eisa-net.org/login and then click in the upper right corner of the webpage on ‘my account’. This will display your membership number and expiration date of your membership. 

Conditions

Maximum of two convenors per workshop. Workshop convenors must be current EISA members. They will pay a reduced participation fee and will be invited to the workshop convenors’ dinner. They will, however, fund and arrange their own travel and accommodation. 

Accepted workshop convenors will be notified by 9 December 2024. 

The general call for papers will then open on 13 January 2025 and EISA members will be able to submit their abstracts until 11 February 2025. 

Workshop format  

EWIS will be an on-site only event and no virtual participation is possible.   

The 12th iteration of EWIS will start on July 2, 2025 with registration, plenary sessions and welcome reception. The registration desk will open early morning. The plenary sessions will start around 13:00 followed by an early evening welcome reception. Workshops will take place on day 2 and 3 (July 3 and 4, 2025 respectively) from 9:00 until 18:00. 

Participants are expected to attend all sessions of their respective workshops. In total, we plan 8 sessions of 90 minutes each over the two workshop days (3 and 4 July 2025). This includes the introductory and conclusion sessions for each workshop. The EWIS format is meant to enable in-depth discussions in a closed group of participants. Each session will therefore host 2-3 papers maximum to ensure paper presenters have the most benefit from the workshop format. Typically, a small EWIS workshop has around 8 participants while we, based on previous experience, do not recommend workshops with more than 15 papers. 

Convenors of accepted workshops will have the following tasks/responsibilities: 

• Share the call within your networks and directly reach out to those whom you indicated in your workshop proposals as confirmed/potential speakers. Make sure that everyone, including confirmed/potential paper presenters, submits their abstracts through the EISA’s submission portal before the official deadline.   

• Review abstracts submitted to your respective workshops and make the decision on acceptance/rejection. EISA will be in touch concerning the technical steps in reviewing and evaluating applications. Once the abstract selection is completed, the EISA will send out acceptance and rejection emails. 

• Once the registration is open, the EISA will send official emails to invite accepted paper presenters to register. We strongly encourage you to get in touch with prospective participants of your workshop to make sure everyone registers on time. Late registration will not be possible. 

• Devise workshop sessions according to your workshop needs, such as time allocation, presentation type, assigning chairs/discussants, etc. You have flexibility in terms of how you want to distribute the sessions over the workshop period. Make sure you circulate individual papers at least 2 weeks before EWIS 2025 to allow other participants to read them. 

Contact 

Please contact ewis2025@eisa-net.org for general enquiries about EWIS 2025. 

Journal Of International Relations And Development (JIRD) Call For A New Editor/Editorial Team (2025-2028)

(APPLICATIONS CLOSE ON 1 AUGUST 2024)

The Central and East European International Studies Association (CEEISA) is looking for a new editorial team to take over the running of JIRD from the present Co-ordinating Editors Xymena Kurowska and Saskia Stachowitsch, and their team of Associate Editors (Stephanie Hofmann, Frédéric Mérand, Ty Solomon, Florian Weiler, Rafi Youatt, Srđan Vučetić) and the JIRD communication officer (Katarina Kušić), at the beginning of 2025.

As a CEEISA journal, published by Palgrave Macmillan and co-owned by the Centre of International Relations at the University of Ljubljana, where the journal was established 40 years ago, in 1984, JIRD strives to reflect the wide range of interests in International Relations and International Political Economy. It addresses a range of global issues and leading theory debates. An important part of its mission is to stimulate and disseminate theory-informed research and scholarship in Central and Eastern Europe and throughout the international academic community.

The CEEISA wishes to maintain the high international standing that the journal has been achieving consistently and is therefore looking for a new editorial team with the strength and institutional support to sustain the tradition and position established by the previous editorial teams. The position may be filled by either an editor or an editorial team headed by one person. The successful applicant or applying team must be established scholars in the fields covered by the journal, be fluent in English and have an internationally recognized track record of scholarship with publications in global journals that are well-established and recognized in the academic community. The new editorial team will reflect the regional roots of the journal together with a diversity of geographical experiences and significant expertise in many of the fields and core areas of the International Relations discipline: International Political Economy, International Organization, International Political Sociology, Security Studies, Gender, Geopolitics, International Political Theory, to name but a few. The editorial team will also bring exceptional methodological breadth to the journal, spanning expertise in formal modelling, quantitative and qualitative positivist, interpretive and narrative methods. CEEISA will strive to have an inclusive team also in terms of gender and geographical diversity as well as individuals who are active in and/or familiar with CEEISA. The length of the tenure is four years.

Applicants, both individuals and teams, should send the following information:

1.     a statement expressing interest in editing the journal and a vision for the journal in the next four years;

2.     a full resume and, if applicable, a full resume of all the suggested members of the Editorial Team – preference may be given to applicants who have included a scholar from the Central and Eastern European region as a member of their Editorial Team;

3.     a letter from the Home Institution (in the case of an Editorial Team, this should be the Home Institution of the Editor-in-Chief) stating its commitment to support the potential editor. A statement about the provided financial and administrative support by the Home Institution could be an advantage in the selection process.

The successful applicant will have at their disposal two Editorial Assistants based at the Centre of International Relations, and/or some financial support to organize the editorial work at their Home Institution. There is also some support for a communication officer.

For informal inquiries about the JIRD editorial work, please get in touch with Xymena Kurowska (kurowskaX@ceu.edu), Filip Ejdus (filip.ejdus@fpn.ac.rs)  and/or Petra Roter (petra.roter@fdv.uni-lj.si) – all three will be also available at the 2024 CEEISA/ISA Rijeka conference in June 2024. Please send your submissions via e-mail to the Secretary General of CEEISA (secretariat@ceeisa.net). Applications will close on 1 August 2024.  It is envisaged that the handover process starts on 2 November 2024, and under any circumstances is to be completed by 31 January 2025. 

Successful proposal in response to the call for a CEEISA-sponsored roundtable or panel in ISA’s 66th Annual Convention: Chicago 2025

CEEISA is pleased to announce that, in response to the call for a CEEISA-sponsored roundtable or panel in ISA’s 66th Annual Convention: Chicago 2025, a proposal has been accepted. The ‘Post-Yugoslav Section’ was proposed by Ana Bojinović Fenko in association with Nemanja Džuverović, Senada Šelo Šabić, Julija Brsakoska Bazerkoska, Stefano Guzzini, Katerina Koci and Marcin Grabowski.

The section aims to strengthen individual and institutional cooperation in the ‘Yugosphere’, increase the visibility of research, and increase inclusiveness and competitiveness in institutions in the European and global research setting. Additionally, the section aims to strengthen ties with researchers around the world who are working on the post-Yugoslav region but are not (yet) CEEISA members.

Journal of International Relations and Development (JIRD) Call for a new Editor/Editorial Team (2025-2028)

The Central and East European International Studies Association (CEEISA) is looking for a new editorial team to take over the running of JIRD from the present Co-ordinating Editors Xymena Kurowska and Saskia Stachowitsch, and their team of Associate Editors (Stephanie Hofmann, Frédéric Mérand, Ty Solomon, Florian Weiler, Rafi Youatt, Srđan Vučetić) and the JIRD communication officer (Katarina Kušić), at the beginning of 2025.

As a CEEISA journal, published by Palgrave Macmillan and co-owned by the Centre of International Relations at the University of Ljubljana, where the journal was established 40 years ago, in 1984, JIRD strives to reflect the wide range of interests in International Relations and International Political Economy. It addresses a range of global issues and leading theory debates. An important part of its mission is to stimulate and disseminate theory-informed research and scholarship in Central and Eastern Europe and throughout the international academic community.

The CEEISA wishes to maintain the high international standing that the journal has been achieving consistently and is therefore looking for a new editorial team with the strength and institutional support to sustain the tradition and position established by the previous editorial teams. The position may be filled by either an editor or an editorial team headed by one person. The successful applicant or applying team must be established scholars in the fields covered by the journal, be fluent in English and have an internationally recognized track record of scholarship with publications in global journals that are well-established and recognized in the academic community. The new editorial team will reflect the regional roots of the journal together with a diversity of geographical experiences and significant expertise in many of the fields and core areas of the International Relations discipline: International Political Economy, International Organization, International Political Sociology, Security Studies, Gender, Geopolitics, International Political Theory, to name but a few. The editorial team will also bring exceptional methodological breadth to the journal, spanning expertise in formal modelling, quantitative and qualitative positivist, interpretive and narrative methods. CEEISA will strive to have an inclusive team also in terms of gender and geographical diversity as well as individuals who are active in and/or familiar with CEEISA. The length of the tenure is four years.

Applicants, both individuals and teams, should send the following information:

1.     a statement expressing interest in editing the journal and a vision for the journal in the next four years;

2.     a full resume and, if applicable, a full resume of all the suggested members of the Editorial Team – preference may be given to applicants who have included a scholar from the Central and Eastern European region as a member of their Editorial Team;

3.     a letter from the Home Institution (in the case of an Editorial Team, this should be the Home Institution of the Editor-in-Chief) stating its commitment to support the potential editor. A statement about the provided financial and administrative support by the Home Institution could be an advantage in the selection process.

The successful applicant will have at their disposal two Editorial Assistants based at the Centre of International Relations, and/or some financial support to organize the editorial work at their Home Institution. There is also some support for a communication officer.

For informal inquiries about the JIRD editorial work, please get in touch with Xymena Kurowska (kurowskaX@ceu.edu), Filip Ejdus (filip.ejdus@fpn.ac.rs)  and/or Petra Roter (petra.roter@fdv.uni-lj.si) – all three will be also available at the 2024 CEEISA/ISA Rijeka conference in June 2024. Please send your submissions via e-mail to the Secretary General of CEEISA (secretariat@ceeisa.net). Applications will close on 25 June 2024.  It is envisaged that the handover process starts on 2 November 2024, and under any circumstances is to be completed by 31 January 2025. 

Call for roundtable/panel proposals - ISA Chicago 2025

CEEISA cordially invites its members to send their roundtable/panel proposals in response to a call for a CEEISA-sponsored roundtable or panel in ISA’s 66th Annual Convention: Reconnecting International Studies, Chicago, USA (2 - 5 March 2025).

Conditions:

-       The panel/roundtable convener must be a CEEISA member.

-       The participants of the panel/roundtable should be from different institutions and from different states.

-       The topic should have some relevance to the Central and Eastern European region.

CEEISA’s Executive Council will select the successful proposal.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is 20 May 2024. Please send your proposals to secretariat@ceeisa.net

Registration for the Complexity Summer School 2024 is open!

We are pleased to announce that the registration for the Complexity Summer School 2024 is open! You can apply for the CISAD Complexity Summer School 2024 from 07.03.24 to 08.04.24.

Complexity Summer School 2024 is organized on site in Kraków. All the courses are conducted in English and will be held in the building of the Faculty at the Reymonta 4 Street in Kraków, Poland.

The recruitment starts 07.03.2024 and ends 08.04.2024.

All you need to do is apply through a dedicated form: link here. 

We strongly encourage you to apply for Complexity Summer School 2024.

Hope to meet you in Krakow, soon! 

More information here.

Complexity Summer School 2024

We are pleased to announce that the Centre for International Studies and Development will organise the Complexity Summer School 2024 on from 1st to 12th July 2024. The School is a continuation of the Winter and Summer Schools organized in February and July 2023 within the framework of the program of the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA): SPINAKER - Intensive International Education Programmes. The project was called Methods, Theories and Realities: System Transformation in the Complexity Perspective.

The school contains theoretical and methodological courses in the perspective of the issues of complexity theory, which will enable the enrichment of knowledge and skills crucial for conducting research. The programme will take into account theoretical modules and modules related to the challenges of the 21st century, such as the problems of international development, security, and the challenges of individual regions of the world. The courses will be conducted in English and will be held in the building of the Faculty at the Reymonta 4 Street in Kraków, Poland.

For the amount of 650 EUR you will have the possibility to:

• Choose the three courses (each one is 12h teaching hours);

• Accommodation in double room in Jagiellonian University dormitories (up to 7 days);

• 5 lunches during the working days.

You may choose to attend more than three courses. Each one paid 150 EUR. 

For more information, see the Regulations below:

https://isad.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/complexity-summer-school-2024

2nd Congress of Polish International Studies Association

We are delighted to let you know about the brand new upcoming event - the 2nd Congress of Polish International Studies Association, which will last from November 6-9th 2024! We would like to kindly invite you to follow and/or join the congress, as it will be an outstanding opportunity to meet and engage with scholars and experts from all around the world!  

The congress is co-organised by CISAD along with the Polish International Studies Association (PISA), the Faculty of International and Political Studies of the Jagiellonian University, the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes and the Global International Relations Section, ISA. The event will take place in Kraków (Poland), the home-city of our Jagiellonian University.  

The theme of this year’s congress is “Global International Relations: Challenges and Developments”. The debate on this issue is becoming an important part of international relations, and the Congress is an opportunity to discuss the origins, as well as the contemporary dimension, development and criticism of the Global IR concept. International relations theories and ideas remain strongly influenced by the Western approach. As a result, they tend tooverlook experiences and relations in other parts of the world. The main aim of Global IR is to 'bring the rest' into the world of international relations, i.e. the non-Western world or the Global South. The Congress is a platform to discuss about the concept of Global IR as well as the place of the non-Western world in global politics. 

We strongly encourage all of you to propose potential panels for the Congress – panel proposals will be open until the end of March and later in April there will be a paper application call so stay tuned. Panel proposal form link - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyV5gqZha9FpATtT4lEnHXw52kDAdn_AzVTp8kOIAk4Hsvfg/viewform

For more information, please visit our website: https://isad.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/2nd-congress-of-polish-international-studies-association?fbclid=IwAR1JXWp8oFxIZTQq2dE0tX66EHWPnee2O7dS8QobNJYfPH3JRB97rSvTURU. 

Call for Abstracts International Theory CEEISA-ISA pre-conference workshop

The IT Section, with generous funding and support from the journal International Theory, will be hosting a day-long workshop in advance of the 2024 joint CEEISA-ISA Convention in Rijeka for young career and underrepresented scholars who work on international theory.

The workshop will be held on Sunday, June 16 at the Moise Palace on Cres and will give scholars an opportunity to meet with members of the IT editorial team and receive feedback on a manuscript they intend to submit to IT or another journal. Travel stipends of 500 USD will be provided to all participants. Participants need to be(come) members of CEEISA and be registered for the joint convention.

Our top priority is meeting the needs of scholars who might otherwise have a hard time accessing intellectual networks in the development of their research and career, including early career scholars, those without tenured/tenure-track appointments, scholars in the Global South, and Black and Indigenous scholars. We are interested in proposals that address different forms of theorizing the international, including but not limited to empirical generalizations, empirical abstractions (also based on field research), concept analysis, as well as political and normative theory (IPT).

To apply for this workshop, please submit an abstract and short paper outline (max. 3 pages) to: InternationalTheory@cambridge.org. Please include “IT workshop” in the subject line.

Deadline: 25 February 2024, so that participants will receive their acceptance before the registration deadline. Late submissions for the conference will be considered for participants of the pre-conference workshop.