Leading CEE Universities Establish Academic Network

to Study Civil Society, Human Rights, and Regime Change in the Region

2025.03.31.

Leading CEE Universities Establish Academic Network

Five leading universities in Central and Eastern Europe have joined forces to establish the academic network “Civil Society, Human Rights, and Regime Change in Central and Eastern Europe.” This initiative brings together Babeș-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), the University of Belgrade (Serbia), Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest, Hungary), Adam Mickiewicz University (Poznań, Poland), and the University of Zagreb (Croatia). The network is funded by the Central European Exchange Program for University Studies (CEEPUS), a multilateral program designed to foster academic mobility and collaboration in the region. The Department of Human Rights and Politics, within the Faculty of Social Sciences at Eötvös Loránd University serves as the Main Coordinator.

The newly established network is committed to promoting academic mobility, fostering interdisciplinary research, and enhancing curriculum development on topics related to civil society, human rights, and regime change. Through the collaboration of scholars and students, the network aims to deepen the understanding of historical developments, key political transformations, institutional human rights frameworks, and the evolving role of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe.

To achieve these goals, the network will promote mobility programs for professors, students, and faculty members, encouraging cross-border exchanges. It will also facilitate joint research projects and curriculum development focused on political and legal transformations in the region.

The network will cover a broad range of topics essential for understanding the political and legal transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. The curriculum will integrate fields such as Political Theory and Constitutional Law, Comparative Politics and European Politics, Democracy Studies and Human Rights, Citizenship and Social Movements, Civil Society Studies and Transition Studies, as well as Law and Sociology.

The partner universities have committed to regularly hosting summer schools and conferences while fostering interdisciplinary dialogue through collaborative research. Additionally, the initiative will encourage collaborative academic activities, including conferences, workshops, and interdisciplinary discussions on democracy, civil society, and political transitions. Furthermore, the network will support cross-institutional thesis supervision and research mentorship, while exploring opportunities for joint publications to contribute to scholarly and public debates on key regional issues.

The “Civil Society, Human Rights, and Regime Change in Central and Eastern Europe” network strives to foster meaningful debate and critical dialogue on its core agenda.

Through research and educational programs, the network seeks to deepen discussions and enhance understanding of key issues related to civil society, human rights, and regime change in the region.

Photocredit: Mike Chai