Prague, May 7, 2026 – Conflicts, crises, and social transformations in regions outside Europe are now significantly shaping developments within Europe itself. To better understand these processes, we need to integrate multiple disciplines and an international perspective. This is the focus of the new Center for Multidisciplinary Area Studies (CenMAS), which is being established at CU Arts.
CenMAS will connect research across the humanities and social sciences and create a platform to study conflicts, crises, and transformations in regions that have traditionally been the focus of CU Arts: Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa. At the same time, it will broaden the international dimension of the research at the faculty and its involvement in academic networks.
“The establishment of CenMAS represents an important step in the development of area studies at the Faculty of Arts. It is not only an organizational change, but a deliberate shift toward a stronger interdisciplinary collaboration and systematic development of research. We aim to create an environment that will help maximize the potential of our existing departments and connect international experts with faculty researchers for long-term cooperation,” says the Dean of CU Arts, Eva Lehečková.
Establishing the center is a part of the broader strategic changes through which CU Arts responds to the changing nature of today’s world and research environment. The new structure builds on the faculty’s long-standing strength in area studies and at the same time integrates social science approaches and the emphasis on comparative research across regions.
Current interstate and intrastate conflicts across regions outside Europe as well as in Eastern Europe, growing domestic instability, polarization, intensified identity-based disputes, inter-institutional tensions, the return of military governments, and major shifts in great power strategies are among the key topics that will be addressed at CenMAS by both a new research group and existing researchers from CU Arts.
“We aim to build CenMAS as an open platform that connects researchers across the faculty and beyond. A key priority is the ability to combine in-depth knowledge of individual regions with broader comparative perspectives. This approach will allow us to better understand the dynamics of current conflicts, crises, and transformations worldwide. At the same time, we want to develop an environment that will provide long-term support for high-quality research projects and international collaboration,” says the Head of CenMAS, Radek Buben.
An important part of CenMAS is the newly established international research group, which will bring specialists from various global regions to the faculty and strengthen its involvement in international and institutional research networks.
“Our goal is to build a research environment that meets international standards and attracts leading scholars. We want to develop ambitious research projects, strengthen international collaboration, and bring new perspectives to the study of global regions. We see CenMAS as a space where different research traditions and approaches can meet and where a truly international academic environment can emerge,” says Mahmoud Farag, Head of the new CenMAS Research Group, who specializes in the study of politics in the Middle East from a comparative perspective. His research focuses on topics such as democratic backsliding, resisting autocratization, and political representation and polarization.
The establishment of the center is closely linked to the implementation of the ERA Chair in Multidisciplinary Area Studies (ERA-AREAS) project, funded by the Horizon Europe program under the ERA Chair scheme. The project provides both financial and institutional support for the development of new research structures.
“The ERA-AREAS project enables the Faculty of Arts to implement changes that would otherwise be difficult to achieve. It provides not only funding for project, research, and administrative activities, but also inspiration and international experience that help connect our researchers with the global academic environment. In this sense, it is an important instrument for achieving the faculty’s goals in area studies,” adds Karel Kouba, Coordinator of the ERA-AREAS project.
The center is being established by the transformation of the existing Center for Ibero-American Studies and integrates the activities of the Center for Strategic Regions. The new organizational structure will make it possible to better connect research, teaching, and project activities and to create a stable foundation for the further development of area studies in a broader interdisciplinary context.
The official launch of CenMAS took place on May 6, 2026, in the Patriotic Hall of the Karolinum, Charles University, with the participation of representatives from the academic community and international partners.
For more information about CenMAS, please visit https://cenmas.ff.cuni.cz/
Media Contact:
Klára Nechvílová
Communication and PR Specialist, ERA-AREAS Project
klara.nechvilova@ff.cuni.cz
+420 770 132 001
Ina Palacká
Press Spokesperson, CU Arts
ina.palacka@ff.cuni.cz
+420 777 739 951
