In the 21st century, we live in a world that is increasingly insecure and wrought with wars and conflicts. Many global challenges—ranging from rising inequality to climate change—contribute to the proliferation of conflicts and pose major risks to states and societies, which threatens European and global security. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the further rise of global turmoil challenges fundamental assumptions about international order, alliance politics, and regional dynamics and has led to a remarkable transformation of European defence. The new era of insecurity aggravates potential devastating consequences for societies, individuals and regions.
The 25th Aleksanteri Conference will address these issues by analyzing challenges of insecurity and responses to these challenges in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. We invite submissions that advance interdisciplinary understandings of security dynamics in the region and beyond through empirical research and theoretical engagement. The conference will focus on the sources and mechanisms of insecurity and resilience of countries, communities, and individuals in the face of these challenges.
The conference marks 30 years since the Aleksanteri Institute was established in 1996, and it will be the 25th Aleksanteri Conference organized annually since 2001, bringing together scholars and experts in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. The conference will be organized by the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki as part of the EU-funded CENTREPEACE project, in cooperation with our partners at Masaryk University in Brno and the Peace Research Institute Oslo.
Call for Proposals opens on 13 February 2026.