This September, the Horizon Europe project "Central and Eastern European Security Cooperation Cluster" (CENTREPEACE) was launched and will run until May 2027. The project aims to foster international cooperation and prepare for future research proposals in the field of security studies. It brings together teams from Masaryk University (MUNI) in Brno, the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO), and the University of Helsinki’s Aleksanteri Institute.
The project will organize various activities, including workshops, visits of researchers and research support staff between the units in Brno, Helsinki, and Oslo, and a co-organized Aleksanteri Conference in 2026. The project also has a research component. Teams from the three institutions will work in focus groups on key topics: (1) Cognitive Warfare and Regional Resilience, (2) Defence Cooperation and the Defence Industry, and (3) Security Cooperation with Eastern Partnership countries.
Already this autumn, the project's activities include planning meetings for project management and focus group research, a dataset-building workshop, and a visiting mini-lecture series by Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen in Brno.
The University of Helsinki team contributing to CENTREPEACE: Professor of Russian and Eurasian Politics Vladimir Gel'man, Professor of Russian Environmental Studies Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, Jean Monnet Chair Katalin Miklossy, Mannerheim Chair of Russian Security Studies and Associate Professor of Russian Security Policy Katri Pynnöniemi, Research Assistant and Project Administrator Maija Harju, and Senior Advisor Anna Korhonen from Research Services team.
The project will produce several outputs, including academic articles, policy papers, and the establishment of a security research network between IIPS, the Aleksanteri Institute, and PRIO. It brings to the Aleksanteri Institute researchers and research support staff from Masaryk University and PRIO.
The CENTREPEACE project is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme (TWINNING-WIDERA).