Research in Central & East European Studies

Research Champion
Dr Jonathan Oldfield

The University of Glasgow has a long history of research excellence related to the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe following the establishment of the Department for the Study of the Social and Economic Institutions of the USSR during the late 1940s.

Since 1949 it has also been the home of Europe-Asia Studies (formerly Soviet Studies), the principal academic journal in the world focusing on the history and current political, social and economic affairs of the countries of the former 'communist bloc' of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Asia.

Central & East European Studies (CEES) continues to be a world-leading centre for research into the region’s history as well as contemporary processes of socio-economic, socio-cultural and socio-political transformation. CEES forms the hub of the Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES), an inter-institutional Centre of Excellence in Russian, Central and East European Language-Based Area Studies.

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise 85% of our work was rated "international", "internationally excellent" or "world leading", and we were ranked first in Scotland and among the top 10 in the UK for European Studies.