The Central and East European International Studies Association (CEEISA) and its official book series, Central and Eastern European Perspectives on International Relations (CEEPIR), are pleased to invite nominations for the CEEISA–CEEPIR Best Dissertation Award. The award recognizes exceptional doctoral scholarship that advances the study of International Relations within the intellectual and thematic scope of Central and Eastern Europe.
Eligible dissertations must advance excellent research on Central and Eastern Europe, offering innovative empirical, conceptual, and methodological perspectives on the region’s social and political transformations, the dynamics of knowledge production, and the interactions between Central and Eastern Europe and broader European or global processes. We particularly welcome work that enriches scholarly dialogue between the region and the wider discipline through novel approaches and analytical insights.
Eligible dissertations must be written in English and must have been successfully defended between 1 January and 31 December 2025. Submissions are welcome from universities worldwide, provided the dissertation clearly aligns with the intellectual remit outlined above.
The award committee will evaluate nominated dissertations according to the ambition and novelty of the research agenda, the strength and clarity of their theoretical and empirical contributions, the quality of methodological execution, and the insight they provide into the politics and scholarship of Central and Eastern Europe. The committee will also consider the dissertation’s potential to be developed into a scholarly monograph.
The prize laureate will receive a £250 book voucher from Palgrave Macmillan and will be invited to submit a monograph based on the dissertation to the CEEPIR book series. The winning dissertation will also be formally recognized at an award ceremony in autumn 2026.
Nominations are due by 30 April 2026, with the winner to be announced by the end of August 2026. The award will be presented at a ceremony in Autumn 2026.
Nominations should be addressed to Michal Onderco, co-editor of the CEEPIR series, at onderco@essb.eur.nl. They should be sent from the nominator’s institutional email address. Each nomination must include a formal nomination letter on institutional letterhead, clearly indicating the name, email address, and institution of PhD award of the nominee, as well as the name, email address, and institutional affiliation of the nominator. The submission should also include a one-page summary of the dissertation and a full electronic copy of the PhD dissertation. All documents must be submitted as PDF files and included as attachments to the email.