London, 17th October 2024

The Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism expresses its concern at the halt in recruitment to the Nationalism Studies programme at Central European University.

Nationalism is an ever-present feature of the modern world, but it has rarely had greater import than today. Across the world, nationalism shapes not just political choices, but the way political choices are made. It behoves us as social scientists to understand what drives human decision making, and few human phenomena are as powerful as nationalism.

From Budapest to Bangkok and from Vienna to Vladivostok, nationalism is on the march in a manner not seen since the fall of the Soviet Union. There are few academic programmes that seek to understand why it is happening and what it means.

The Nationalism Studies programme at CEU is not only one of a handful that study nations and nationalism at the postgraduate level; it is one of the very best. The termination of the programme would be a loss not just to CEU and its future scholars, but to the broader academy.

We join with many other friends of CEU in signing the petition in support of the Nationalism Studies programme and encourage others to sign as well.