GMF Announces 2022 Class of ReThink.CEE Fellows

Now in its fifth year, this fellowship program works to address current and future challenges facing Central and Eastern European democracy, security, and transatlantic integration. The ReThink.CEE fellowship supports next-generation policy experts, analysts, and thought leaders from the region by enabling participants to undertake original policy research and inform regional, European, and transatlantic policies and strategies. For this purpose, fellows join GMF on a non-resident basis for the coming year and benefit from the full array of intellectual and organizational resources of this transatlantic policy institute.

After a highly competitive selection procedure, the following nine fellows and research projects were selected for the 2022 ReThink.CEE fellowship:

Katsiaryna Lozka, Belarus: The Belarus crisis and its impact on regional security.

Iliyana Arnaudova, Bulgaria: Regional cooperation on climate and security in Eastern Europe and Turkey.

Jana Juzová, Czechia: Reenergizing EU enlargement: How can the V4 contribute?

Justinas Mickus, Lithuania: The preferences of Eastern EU members on external economic policy.

Filip Konopczyński, Poland: Uncanny Central European valley? Government adoption of AI in illiberal democracies.

Tomáš A. Nagy, Slovakia: The Bucharest 9 and the future of regional security cooperation.

Khrystyna Kvartsiana, Ukraine: The cyber dimension of the Russian war against Ukraine.

Olha Nykorak, Ukraine: The impact of Russia's legal narratives in Central and Eastern Europe.

Khrystyna Parandii, Ukraine: Ukraine’s application for EU membership: Mapping policy options in wartime.

 The 2022 class of ReThink.CEE fellows will pay particular attention to the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the Central and Eastern Europe region broadly. Many fellows, including three from Ukraine, will scrutinize the fallout of this dramatic turn of events for regional societies and politics, security, and integration. Following in-depth research over the coming months, fellows are expected to present substantial policy papers to regional and transatlantic decision-makers, experts, and publics.

 “As we enter the third month of Russia’s war against Ukraine, we are reminded daily of the geostrategic importance of Central and Eastern Europe to European, transatlantic, and global security. It is a particularly timely moment to elevate new voices and new thinking from this critical region, which is why GMF is delighted to welcome a new class of ReThink.CEE fellows to our network,” says GMF President Heather A. Conley. “Our ReThink.CEE fellows’ expertise, analysis, and research will strengthen transatlantic understanding of the region’s political, economic, and security dynamics as it navigates an increasingly unstable Russia, encounters growing Chinese influence, and adapts to rapid technological and societal change.”