CERiM Central and Eastern Europe hub (CEEhub)

Central and Eastern Europe has experienced complex processes of democratization and some of the sharpest turns to autocracy in contemporary times, emerging as a battleground for the future of democracy in Europe. This area of expertise studies patterns of autocratization and identifies sources of democratic resilience in an era of contestation and violent conflicts. 

The relationships among Central and Eastern European countries and with the rest of the world have been shaped by their efforts to navigate changing global orders and power structures and to connect to different communities and places. This area of expertise investigates the movement of knowledge, ideas, goods, resources, capital, and people within the CEE space and to and from it, across sectors such as energy, digital and finance. 

Since the end of the Second World War, Central and Eastern European states have actively participated in and shaped various forms of institutionalized European cooperation. Most recently, the European Union’s eastern enlargements have had a significant impact on European integration processes and are likely to continue doing so in the near future. How Central and Eastern European states have imagined, shaped, and influenced European integrations and how to prepare for future rounds of EU enlargement are key questions that this area of expertise explores.

How history is interpreted has high political stakes in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, which results in heated contests over questions of identity and belonging. This area of expertise focuses on the most contested issues in memory politics, such as the socialist past and competing national projects, and how contemporary political subjectivities are being reshaped.