Research centres
Centre for European Politics
The primary focus of the Centre for European Politics (CEP) is Europe, particularly in relation to the study of all the relevant issues, including security, integration processes, social, cultural, and religious differences, common institutions, and modern-day challenges. It examines the European Union in all its aspects, with a special emphasis on Central Europe, but also consider individual states and regions beyond its borders, such as Ukraine, the Western Balkans, and Russia. NATO figures prominently in the centre’s research, but members of this centre also address non-traditional aspects of security, such as disinformation and foreign interference in domestic politics.
Centre for Global Political Economy
The Centre for Global Political Economy examines the interlinkages between political and economic power in international relations, whose understanding is key for the strategic decision-making of both governments and non-state actors in a globalized world. The Centre primarily focuses on the challenges facing the Czech Republic and the European Union in a time of intensifying geopolitical confrontation and the general fragmentation of the global economy. Thematically, these challenges encompass areas such as trade and industrial policy, development cooperation, and the impacts of armed conflicts on political and gender relations at both local and global levels. Regionally, the centre’s experts focus in particular on Central and Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
Centre for Governance of Emerging Technologies
The Centre for Governance of Emerging Technologies explores the critical intersections of security, technology, and global politics. Its work addresses how digital innovation reshapes geopolitics, with a particular focus on disinformation within the EU and the stigmatization of scientific knowledge in political processes. The Centre examines evolving configurations of cybersecurity and the role of technology in enabling or countering foreign interference. Space security is another key pillar, where research investigates the democratization of space technologies and the gradual erosion of states’ traditional dominance. A strong focus is placed on planetary defense, including the governance challenges of space mining.
Centre for International Law
The Centre for International Law examines how international rules shape today’s world, organizing its academic and policy research around three main research areas. The first one focuses on human rights law, justice, and the theory of international law, exploring how law protects the rights of individuals and communities and how evolving legal principles respond to global challenges. The second research area addresses security and conflict, analyzing when and how states may lawfully use force, the rules of armed conflict under international humanitarian law, legal responses to terrorism, and mechanisms of international criminal law for addressing international crimes. The third research area examines the global economy, cyberspace, and new societal challenges, focusing on the regulation of trade and finance, the governance of cyberspace and digital technologies, and the legal dimensions of climate change and gender in international relations. Across all three research areas, CIL researchers bridge academic inquiry and real-world policy, helping to guide future debate on emerging challenges – from international human rights and humanitarian law, cyber-security and economic shifts to inclusive and sustainable global governance.
Centre for the Study of Global Regions
The Centre for the Study of Global Regions pursues academic and policy research on international politics and security in East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa that is oriented along three main research axes. The first concentrates on political systems and the shifting nature of authoritarianism, focusing on topics such as social movements, the transformation of political parties, or the nature of political repression. The second axis concerns international security issues, including non-state armed actors, regional armed conflicts, missile defence, and non-traditional threats such as disinformation and covert foreign interference. Finally, the third axis revolves around the European and Czech policies towards the Middle East, North Africa, and East Asia.