Ústav mezinárodních vztahů

The Centre for European Integration

The Centre for European Integration (CEI) studies the processes, institutions and actors of European politics with a special emphasis on questions of European Integration. European politics is understood by it as a complex and differentiated field in which interests of transnational institutions, corporations, states and regions meet and clash with each other. We study these interactions from an interdisciplinary point of view that combines traditional approaches of European studies, political science and international relations while incorporating broader historical, social and cultural contexts.

The activities of the centre consist of three pillars. The first one is basic research that is conducted not only on the national level, but also as part of international consortiums such as Horizon 2020 and Erasmus + Jean Monnet Networks. It is the emphasis on theoretically and methodologically backed excellent research that sets CEI apart from other similarly oriented workplaces. The second pillar is applied research in which the centre provides consultations and policy advice to Czech and European public institutions. The third pillar is formed by the debate about European politics, to which the CEI Team contributes with its members’ appearances in the media, and at debates and various conferences. The flagship of CEI is the annual international conference Prague European Summit.

The research of the centre lies in three thematical areas:

• Integration and differentiation processes of the European Union: Actors, policies and institutions. The European integration process is the key factor of European politics which permeates and influences political, economic and security questions of the continent. In the past years, there have also been processes of differentiation - for example, in the areas of the common currency, the Schengen Area and asylum and migration policy. CEI studies the interactions between these two trends, their impact on the future direction of the EU and other possibilities that stem from the greater effectiveness, legitimacy and equity of European governance.
• The Czech Republic in the European Union. The European Union creates the key context for almost any public policy of the Czech Republic. European institutions are co-authors of legislation that is of direct influence on the everyday life of Czech citizens. The majority of Czech exports go to the European Union, and the smooth functioning of the EU is the key for the economic prosperity of the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic can also react to and co-create the complex processes of the interconnected world as part of the EU: the rise of non-Western powers, the ecological crisis, security threats and global movement of people, goods and capital. CEI helps to analyze and formulate Czech interests in the European Union.
• Policies of European countries, with a special emphasis on their international dimension. European and Czech politics are influenced, whether directly or through mediation, by the developments in other European countries. An understanding of the social and political realities of key European states is a necessary tool in understanding the process of European Integration and the position of the Czech Republic in the EU. CEI focuses on the analysis of the domestic and especially the foreign policies of a number of European countries, mainly Germany, Great Britain and the countries of the Visegrad Group.

Publications of the Centre for European Integration

• “Putin, You Suck”: Affective Sticking Points in the Czech Narrative on “Russian Hybrid Warfare”.
  New article by Jakub Eberle and Jan Daniel for the prestigious journal Political Psychology. The text focues on how one of the many possible narratives about the threat of “Russian hybrid war” succeeded in the Czech environment. (Jakub Eberle and Jan Daniel)
• A Security Threat or an Economic Consequence? An Analysis of the News Framing of the European Union's Refugee Crisis (Jan Kovář)
  An article by Jan Kovář was published in International Communication Gazette. In the article, the author tests the securitisation of the immigration thesis in the coverage of the refugee crisis in Czech and Slovak media through an analysis of the relative importance of immigration-related frames, and shows that the security-threat frame is the dominant frame in the media, while economic framing is significantly less frequent, and that the security-threat frame is more prominent in tabloids.
• Representative Democracy in Czechia: A Disconnect Betwenn the National and EU Level (Jan Kovář, Petr Kratochvíl and Zdeněk Sychra)
  Does the Czech model of representative democracy work efficiently with European policies? What are the main tools available to Czech MPs and senators to influence, formulate and control how European policies are being made?
• Germany as a Dividual Actor: Competing Social Logics and their Political Articulations (Jakub Eberle)
  Jakub Eberle published a new article titled "Germany as a Dividual Actor: Competing Social Logics and their Political Articulations" in the prestigious impact journal German Politics. The text enters the professional debate on German foreign policy and offers its own theoretical framework for explaining the often surprising behavior of the Federal Republic.
• Discourse and Affect in Foreign Policy. Germany and the Iraq War. (Jakub Eberle)
  This publication offers an original outlook on the politics of the Federal Republic of Germany during the Iraq Crisis between the years 2002 and 2003. It  contributes to wider theoretical debates on the role of emotions in international relations.

Our Team