Are you a late-stage Ph.D. candidate, postdoctoral researcher, or faculty member thinking about applying for a European Research Council grant? The Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University (FSV UK) and the European Centre of Charles University (RUK) are hosting a workshop designed to make the ERC application process clearer and more approachable. Join us on Thursday, November 26th to learn how ERC grants work, who can apply, and what it takes to write a competitive proposal.
Dominika Kunertova’s new paper argues that a drone wall alone cannot protect Europe. The rapid spread of cheap lethal drones, airspace ambiguity and sanctions evasion have outpaced existing arms control, so the EU and European governments must update arms trade reporting, airspace governance and dual-use export controls to keep up. Read full paper here.
This week, the Czech Security Forum 2026 brought together leading experts on international relations and security to discuss polarization, foreign interference and fragmentation of the Western alliance. Featuring keynote speaker Professor Brett Ashley Leeds, the event explored whether NATO remains a reliant alliance and what factors are driving polarization between and within states.
A new article from Lauren Sukin and her colleagues Luis Rodriguez and Stephen Herzog published in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists finds that many people support both nuclear deterrence and disarmament. Most endorse the nuclear taboo, yet many would accept its use in extreme cases. This gives policymakers more room than often assumed to reduce nuclear risk while addressing security concerns. Find the full article here.
Tobias Risse’s article published in Research & Politics provides systematic evidence on how governments directly involved in civil war perceive conventional arms control. The findings show that acute intrastate conflicts lead states to view conventional arms control primarily as a matter of national security rather than a humanitarian issue. Read full paper here.
Germany's relations with Russia and Ukraine underwent a fundamental shift under Scholz’s government. Our scholar Jakub Eberle and his colleague Vladimír Handl trace this transformation: from the 2025 election debates between a strong pro-Ukraine consensus and a critical AfD-led stream, to the new dynamics under Merz amid the uncertainty over Trump’s administration. Find the full book chapter here.
Zakir Rzazade’s conjoint survey experiment (N = 1,002 and N = 501) tests whether military-technological capabilities boost perceived international status. The article finds that AI leadership and possession of emerging technologies/aircraft carriers raise status, but domestic production yields significantly larger gains than external purchase. Find the full article here.
PRCP welcomes its new Gender Research Group, convened by Alice Nováková and Shreya Sharma. The group explores feminist approaches, intersectional perspectives, and postcolonial critiques in International Relations and security studies, with a focus on WPS, nuclear weapons, and feminist foreign policy. Scholars and practitioners are invited to get in touch and collaborate. Find out more here.
