Tuğba Bayar
Bilkent University, TURKEY

I am honored to stand for election to the Governing Board of the European International Studies Association (EISA), an organization that has been pivotal in fostering intellectual exchange and advancing scholarship in international studies. As a scholar of international relations at Bilkent University, Ankara, my research focuses on international regimes, international law, human rights, and the Middle East, particularly Iran’s foreign affairs. My engagement with EISA—through conferences, presentations, and receiving a travel grant—has deepened my appreciation for its role in shaping our field.

If elected, I will focus on two key priorities. First, I will advocate for academic freedoms in Europe, where increasing constraints threaten scholarly inquiry and open debate. EISA can take a stronger leadership role in defending these principles. Second, I will work to enhance inclusivity by increasing travel grants for scholars from economically disadvantaged regions and supporting initiatives that amplify underrepresented voices. To further this goal, I propose launching a mentorship program for early-career female scholars, offering guidance on publishing, networking, navigating grant applications, and career development within our field.

I am committed to contributing to EISA’s governance, strengthening its events, funding strategies, and membership outreach. With experience in organizing academic workshops and conferences, I aim to support initiatives that meet the evolving needs of our diverse membership. Together, we can reinforce EISA’s impact as a global platform for scholarly engagement while upholding inclusivity, academic excellence, and freedom.

I am eager to contribute to a more inclusive, dynamic, and intellectually open EISA. I look forward to building this future together.

Samarjit Ghosh
Özyeğin University, TURKEY 

I am interested in joining the Governing Board because the EISA has been a very fruitful and welcoming space for me in my professional and academic endeavors, as I’m sure it has been for many others, and I’d like to be part of the process of continuing to make that happen. At the time that I started applying to the EISA’s events, I was based in the US and my network – so to speak – was mostly oriented around North American-dominant discourses and institutions. Within that space, I had started to find a niche of critical, thoughtful, interesting folks, that I wanted to think, write, collaborate with; and when I relocated to ‘Europe’, it was the loss of that network that seemed really foreboding to me. I would soon find out, to my delight, that those folks – that network – was always already there at the EISA.  

I’m originally from India, currently based in Turkey, as an Assistant Professor in International Relations at Özyeğin University (Istanbul). I have participated in nearly all EISA events since 2019 – and had the honor to be invited as a semi-plenary speaker and a plenary speaker at PEC ’21 and ’23, respectively. I also served as a member of the Early Career Development (ECD) Group from January ’21 to ’25 and helped to organize both online and IRL events – including publishing panels, IR cafes, and receptions – to create networking, learning, and collaborative spaces and opportunities, for early career researchers at the EISA. As part of the ECD Group, I had the chance to have an insider-outsider perspective; to see and be a (small) part of the work that makes PEC – in particular – happen, and experience other parts of it – that I didn’t have a hand in organizing – and understanding just how much thought and work went into making it work. I think the past few years have been very transformative times for the EISA, that its board has steered through quite ably, and I’d like to be a part of furthering that journey.  

As a board member, I’d also want to work towards the one-year/one-off membership issue, and the broadening of the association’s membership base – beyond its original (western) European core. As (formerly) part of the ECD group, I am aware of the (positive) predominance of early career members, with the concurrent issue of one-year/one-off memberships – particularly driven by the structural precarity of part of that membership base. And I have seen how that has broadened, both by being witness to the diversity of participants in the program, but also by seeing the difference between online- and in-person events, because certain (groups of) members couldn’t attend the in-person events due to visa refusals (something that I experienced myself). I think the board has done a splendid job with their attention to these issue-areas –in terms of having a slate of online events between in-person events, and in terms of the grant and funding opportunities being made available (and indeed, in being very supportive with registration reimbursements in the event of visa refusals). I would like to work with the board towards an(other) annual in-person conference or symposium between PECs, at a location that is more economically feasible and visa accessible, to help broaden participation and engagement across the membership base. 

Laura Horn
Roskilde University, DENMARK 

I bring with me experience with European academic networks, commitment to interdisciplinary approaches in International Studies, and dedication to engaged scholarship connecting academic work with broader movements for justice. 

Why EISA? 

EISA and the field of International Relations stand at a critical juncture in the polycrisis. As a scholar working with future imaginaries in global politics, I share Ursula K. Le Guin’s position that ‘once you see the injustice, you can never again in good faith deny the oppression.’ Our academic community must uphold rigorous, diverse scholarship while defending academic freedom. EISA provides a platform for what Le Guin describes as ‘a middle ground between defense and attack, a space opened for change’ that allows for both critical analysis and constructive engagement. 

Why me? 

Participation in numerous EISA events (e.g. PECs in Prague, Sofia, Athens, and Potsdam; EWIS workshops in Krakow and Amsterdam) has provided me with experience in how EISA creates forums for exchange. Having studied and worked across Europe, I understand diverse academic cultures and contexts. My research focuses on the political economy of green transition, critical political economy, and future imaginaries. My leadership experience includes being board member of the European Sociological Association, and chair of the Critical Political Economy Research Network. As shop steward, I understand power relations in academia and support EISA’s initiatives for early career scholars. As activist with Scientist Rebellion, I stand with other scientists and academics in confronting the urgency of climate collapse through collective action. 

My focus areas 

No EISA on a dead planet: I have organised several townhall meetings on sustainable academic practices at EISA conferences and would work to further develop EISA’s approach to ecological and social sustainability in its organisation, practices, and events. EISA can become a leading association for sustainable and equitable academic exchange. 

From Statements to Solidarity: In times of existential threats to educational infrastructure and scholarly communities, learned associations must stand up for solidarity and the material conditions enabling scholarship. Le Guin’s point about the middle ground is not about avoiding difficult positions, but about engaging them with nuance and courage – whether in supporting movements like BDS or other forms of academic and political solidarity that challenge established power structures while creating spaces for dialogue and change. I would encourage EISA to strengthen its defense of academic freedom through substantive positions and actions. 

Engaging EISA: Building on Michael Burawoy’s concept of ‘public sociology’, I would work for strengthening EISA initiatives for meaningful dialogue between academic communities and diverse publics through ‘organic public scholarship’ – not just translating research for wider audiences but building reciprocal relationships with communities and movements through conferences and oline events. 

Sibel Karadağ
Kadir Has University, TURKEY 

Dear EISA Members, 

It is with great enthusiasm that I express my interest in joining the EISA Governing Board. As an Assistant Professor and Director of the Graduate Program at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, I am deeply committed to fostering intellectual collaboration and diversity within the EISA community. It would be a profound honor to be a part of your genuinely solidaristic and intellectually vibrant academic environment where I am eager to contribute with my expertise in mobility and border studies, particularly in their intersections with labor studies, international political sociology, postcolonial theory and social policy. I firmly believe that my highly interdisciplinary academic background will not only enrich intellectual diversity but also broaden the scope and impact of EISA’s events and activities.  

My academic journey has been shaped by a decade of interdisciplinary research and fieldwork in the EU-Turkish borderlands. Beginning with ethnographic work on the Greek island of Lesbos, where I volunteered with rescue teams and studied border governance, I have since expanded my research to include border villages along the Evros River. This hands-on experience has equipped me with a unique perspective on migration and border dynamics. Currently, I am the Co-PI of the TREATMi project (Doctors on the move: Transnational Research into Healthcare Migration) in collaboration with Humboldt University, focusing on the healthcare structures and ongoing exodus of medical doctors from Turkey to Germany, which extends my experience not only in border studies but also across broader dimensions of mobility.  

EISA has played a pivotal role in my academic development. Since 2016, I have actively participated in PEC events, presenting my research and engaging with a vibrant network of scholars. This experience culminated in my role as program co-chair and host of the 2024 European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS) at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. Organizing this event, which brought together over 500 scholars from 40 workshops, was a transformative experience that deepened my commitment to fostering inclusive, diverse and collaborative dialogue, provided invaluable organizational experience and reinforced a solution-oriented mindset during times of crisis. 

I would be honored to serve the EISA community and contribute to its continued success. I am committed to amplifying voices from non-Western geographies and creating spaces where marginalized and critical conversations are not only welcomed but celebrated. I would like to prioritize the perspectives of Early Career Researchers, precarious and subaltern scholars, and those based in low-income countries. I wish the inclusion of a scholar from Turkey will expand the scope and impact of the EISA’s activities, aligning with its broader aspirations. 

Gustav Meibauer
Radboud Universiteit, NETHERLANDS 

I am running for the EISA Governing Board out of a long-standing commitment to excellence, diversity, tolerance and collegiality. I believe that professional associations can help its members organize, share, and stand together in uncertain times, via the sharing of knowledge as well as with networks of support for their scholarship and careers. 

This is more important than ever when academic freedom is under threat, funding is being cut, and anti-science sentiment increasingly wide-spread. I believe now is the time for EISA to step up – with the US turning to competitive authoritarianism, conferences and workshops held in North America will be increasingly difficult to access, especially for LGBTQ+ colleagues and those from the Global South. Crucial perspectives on the disciplines are at risk purely based on keyword searches. EISA clearly has the potential to help fill the gap. I would like to be able to contribute to this endeavour. 

I first encountered EISA in 2019 when I participated in the European Workshops in Krakow. From then on, I have been committed to contributing to it in various capacities – as participant and paper giver at multiple PECs, as the co-chair of PEC sections in 2022 and 2023, as co-chair of a new standing section on realist thought since 2024, and, very soon, as workshop co-convener at EWIS 2025. Seeking to defy stereotypes one might have about a realism section, my co-chair and I worked hard to ensure a diverse, inclusive and lively sub-community from all over Europe and beyond, especially also including Central & Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus. I believe that the section’s success over the last years is at least in part due to these efforts. 

In my research, I have been and remain interested in how our discipline (re)produces and disseminates knowledge – sometimes in biased and ineffective ways, sometimes in inspiring and innovative formats. EISA has always struck me as an association uniquely placed to push our disciplinary boundaries not only in terms of scholarship, but also in terms of collaboration, in reaching out to colleagues in the Global South, to early-career researchers and (increasingly) to our audiences beyond academia. This is because it has been able to offer a big umbrella for diverse critical, theoretical and empirical work – its wide variety of attractive, successful sections and standing sections are testament to that fact, as are its increasing rates of participation and representation from around the world. 

I would like to help steer EISA toward fostering and celebrating this diversity and riches of community especially amidst a climate increasingly hostile to academic research. I think this could be done most effectively through further developing its grants system and supporting networking activities (the Early-Career Workshops, for example, are a tremendous resource to be emulated and grown), as well as further successful outreach/dissemination online (where the podcast and high-profile online seminars series have already built a good audience). I would be looking forward to working together with colleagues on the Board on these and other solutions on your behalf. 

Iratxe Perea Ozerin
University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), SPAIN 

I am a Senior Lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Public Law, Historical-Legal Sciences and Political Thought at the University of the Basque Country. My research interests include Feminist International Relations and International Political Economy, gender violence and austerity, revolutions, transnational social movements, and Latin America and the Caribbean.  

I have been an active member of the EISA community since 2015, when I first attended the Pan-European Conference on International Relations (PEC) in Sicily. Since then, I have considered EISA my primary professional home. It has provided me with the opportunity to participate in discussions and conversations with a wide and diverse community of scholars, and to meet so many brilliant colleagues. I have contributed to this space and to the Association across the years, chairing a section on Latin America and the Caribbean in Barcelona (2017), and putting together and participating in many panels, roundtables and workshops, both at the Pan-European Conferences (PEC) and the European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS).  

If elected, I commit to further develop EISA as an important resource and space for the global International Studies community. In particular, I intend to work on the following issues:  

• Previous Boards have already launched different initiatives to address pervasive precarisation and exclusion in the academic career, such as the Mobility Fund and the EISA RIPE Mobility Grants, or the Postdoctoral Bridge Grants. Such tools should be supported and expanded as much as possible.  

• Promoting and expanding sustainability practices during academic conferences.  

• Broadening connections and collaboration with professional associations, institutes and research organisations working around issues on International Relations, especially in underrepresented regions of EISA. 

• Strengthening EISA’s vocation as a member-driven association, ensuring the Association’s responsiveness towards members’ perspectives and proposals.    

Francesco Ragazzi
Leiden University, NETHERLANDS 

The creation of EISA has been one of the most exciting developments that has happened to European International Relations in the past decade. After being involved in its activities in various capacities, I would be really glad to have an opportunity to contribute to its development. If elected to the EISA Governing Board, I would prioritize the following areas: 

Strengthening multimodal and experimental methods in international studies: Building on my experience at Leiden University with ReCNTR (Leiden’s Center on Audio-visual and Multimodal Methods), and my role in the sections on International Political Design and Multimodal Methods and Visual IR,  I would like to further EISA’s engagement with multimodal research methodologies, such as visual ethnography, critical coding or critical data visualization and computational methods. This means not only finding new ways of supporting, presenting and publishing multimodal work, but also establishing links with a broad range of interdisciplinary initiatives that could be highly relevant for international relations scholarship.  

Further supporting opportunities for early-career and underrepresented scholars: I am committed to continuing the effort to provide mentorship programs, funding support, and publication avenues for early-career researchers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds and Global South institutions. The EISA can still do more to create an even playing field when it comes to access to funding, meeting, presentation and publication opportunities. This includes challenging stereotypes in both academic and policy circles while fostering productive communication of provocative research. 

Bridging critical academic work and policy engagement: Based on my policy experience with European and international institutions, as well as collaboration with grassroots organizations, I would work towards creating stronger linkages between EISA’s scholarly network and policymakers (institutional and grassroots), ensuring that critical, alternative research findings translate into meaningful societal impact. This means debunking assumptions and stereotypes in both professional milieus and finding fruitful ways to communicate provocative research. 

Sustaining EISA’s international reach and institutional resilience: At a time when academic freedom and funding for critical research face increasing pressures, I would advocate for sustainable strategies to maintain EISA’s position as a leading association in international studies. 

In all these areas, I am eager to collaborate with fellow board members and the broader EISA community to ensure that the association continues to thrive as an inclusive, forward-looking platform for critical international studies. Thank you for your consideration. 

Eric Sangar
Sciences Po Lille / CERAPS, University of Lille, FRANCE 

My name is Eric Sangar, and I work as an Associate Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Lille in France. Since 2015, EISA, and the PEC in particular, has been for me a place that represents the three most positive aspects of academia: open, challenging, non-hierarchical debates on all things IR; productive and enthusiastic collaborations that have led to new research projects and publications; and, certainly not least, inspiring personal encounters that have brought new perspectives but also friendships into my life. Beyond a number of individual contributions as paper presenter and discussant, I organized several panels related to my research interests on collective memory, militarisation, and conflict discourses. At last year’s PEC in Lille, I co-organized, with Sabine Dini, the section “Art, Literature, and Activism in International Politics”. I am also grateful for having contributed to EISA’s book series “Palgrave Studies in International Relations” with the collective volume “Researching emotions in international relations: Methodological perspectives on the emotional turn” (co-edited with Maéva Clément in 2017).  

I would describe myself as a mid-career scholar who has experienced the academic cultures and career systems of four European countries. This experience of mobility has enabled me to develop a sense of both the shared values and the practical diversity of European academic practices. In my research projects I have worked on the role of emotions in the legitimation of political violence, the interaction between collective memory and strategic narratives in the making of foreign policy, and, more recently, the uses of quantitative data and science fiction in the anticipation of military threats. Having navigated across organizational and national boundaries I am familiar with what it means to make difficult choices in terms of choosing an academic “home”, connecting with national and international professional networks, and developing a research and publication portfolio that can support and relate to these choices. Professional communities, and EISA in particular, have helped me to gain confidence and strength at moments when I doubted my ability to “integrate” into academia, to respond to often conflicting institutional expectations, while still maintaining my academic curiosity and producing interesting research. 

I am also aware that, in recent years, navigating these issues has become an increasingly difficult challenge for both emerging and established scholars. Across Europe, academics are struggling to maintain their independence and integrity as they are increasingly exposed to economic, social or institutional pressures. Budget cuts are making access to tenure but also the production of independent and meaningful social science research more difficult than ever. Critical research is increasingly under fire from social networks but also from powerful political and economic actors. While I do not have a definitive answer to these challenges, I believe that EISA should maintain and expand its mission to become a space where a spirit of transnational and transdisciplinary solidarity, mutual listening, and professional support can grow, supporting each and every member in their individual struggles.  

If elected, this would be the focus of my work on the Board. Promoting EISA as a space of solidarity and mutual support could include, for example, strengthening efforts for emerging but also established scholars to develop their professional and personal aspirations across academic communities in Europe, including by creating new opportunities (physical and virtual) to exchange informal advice and strategies and to draw lessons from past professional experiences. Another priority could be broader support for the development of publication and dissemination strategies. How can we better engage students and lay communities in our efforts to produce and disseminate academic, independent research on IR? And to what extent should we recommit to publishing in languages other than English in order to influence debates at the national or local level? Last but not least, I believe that EISA should become a space of reflection and resistance in a context characterized by an undeniable rise of authoritarian politics and attacks on academic freedom and independence. Therefore, I would strive to stimulate debates on how to counter these tendencies and support threatened researchers and academic communities, especially those working in the areas of gender and LGBT+, climate and environmental studies, and colonial and postcolonial studies. Part of such resistance could be financial and symbolic support for individual researchers who are targeted by efforts to “cancel” their research activities; another aspect of such reflection would be to consider how EISA can collectively position itself against attempts to control and direct IR research through economic, political, or institutional means.  

In challenging times like these, I believe that EISA can help more than ever to build bridges, to foster solidarity and a sense of belonging among IR scholars in Europe. I would be grateful if I could make a small contribution to this goal.  

If you feel that these issues speak to you, please do consider voting for me. 

Henrique Tavares Furtado
University of the West of England, UNITED KINGDOM 

I am a Senior lecturer in Politics and IR at the University of the West of England and a founding member and co-convener of the Reactionary Politics Research Network. My research focuses on the intersections of right-wing political violence, the memory of authoritarianism and psychoanalytical theories of trauma. I have been actively engaging with the ISA for almost a decade and have contributed to numerous panels and roundtables in Sicily, Sofia, Athens, Potsdam, Lille, as well as the European Workshops in Cardiff, Kraków, and Istanbul. This year I became co-chair of the new standing section Reactionary Global Politics (REACT), which seeks to provide a home for IR scholars working on the far-right, radical right-wing populism and post-fascism to consolidate the study of reactionary politics as a subfield of the discipline. If elected to the board, I commit to four principles: 

Strengthening Global South Representation: As a Brazilian scholar working in the UK, I am aware of the challenges that our members from under-represented regions face, which range from unfair and uneven citation practices, lack of formal representation, to major impediments posed by draconian visa regimes or the lack of access to hard currency. I commit to supporting scholars from underrepresented Global South regions by pursuing avenues for funding and access to EISA programs and events. Building on my network, I would also pursue the possibility of hosting joint evets with other IR associations and those of similar fields outside of Europe.  

Building a Membership-Led Organisation: Professional associations only exist because of their members. They cease to make sense if divorced from them. Therefore, one of my central pledges is to continue to fight for a membership-led organisation, making the EISA even more responsive to the membership base by improving the communication channels available, working for the transparency of decision-making and ensuring that members feel their voice is being heard.    

Solidarity with Precariously Employed Colleagues: Higher Education is under attack. The compound effect of multiple financial crises, the refusal to fund universities while military spending soars, and the reactionary culture wars means that our PhD and precariously employed colleagues are facing increasing challenges. It is our duty, as a professional community, to support them in whatever way we can. I commit to protecting and enhancing the invaluable mobility fund, pursuing more accessible pathways for participation in EISA activities, increase inclusivity as well as exploring hybrid models for events.  

For a Critical and Progressive Ethos: EISA’s emphasis on fostering an inclusive global intellectual community always inspired me and I would strive to further these values through targeted efforts to decolonize knowledge production and dissemination in IR. Over the years, I have deeply appreciated the critical, yet welcoming environment at PEC and EWIS. I pledge to protect his atmosphere, which makes the EISA stand as a promoter of an equal academy and society. 

Rens van Munster
Danish Institute for International Studies, DENMARK 

Hello – my name is Rens van Munster, and I work at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Like many of us in European IR, I’ve grown up academically within EISA’s vibrant community. Where other conferences often trigger mild existential dread (“hello, name tag anxiety”), EISA events have consistently offered that rare combination: intellectually stimulating and genuinely enjoyable. Now I’m keen to help shape EISA’s future by joining the Governing Board. And let’s not lie to each other: climate change and recent political shifts make it more important than ever to maintain EISA as a thriving pan-European space where independent scholarship can flourish. 

Research & Approach 

My work explores how nuclear weapons transform our understanding of politics, existence, and planetary futures. I’ve studied indigenous communities navigating the radioactive afterlives of nuclear testing and examined connections between sci-fi and existentialist philosophy – work that reflects my commitment to bringing diverse perspectives into conversation. For the 2025 PEC conference in Bologna, I’m co-organizing a section on “Making Futures Out of a Broken World: Technology, Aesthetics, Imagination” – which really tells you everything about what fascinates me. 

Vision for the Board 

While I’m happy to contribute wherever needed, I’m particularly drawn to the Scholarship & Teaching cluster, where I’d focus on: 

• Supporting early career scholars – As PhD Coordinator at DIIS and someone who faced challenges during my own PhD, I understand what emerging researchers need in today’s precarious environment: not just guidance, but genuine community that EISA is uniquely positioned to foster. 

• Building bridges across scholarly communities – Running two Copenhagen natural wine stores and a wine bar has taught me to create spaces where different personalities and professions connect. These ventures have honed organizational and financial skills that translate surprisingly well to academic administration (or perhaps not so surprising, given that both involve managing complex personalities and explaining why things cost more than people want to pay). 

As a member of the Danish Council for Independent Research, I’ve evaluated hundreds of cutting-edge research proposals, developing a keen eye for innovative research across methodological divides. I’d bring this perspective to strengthening EISA as an inclusive, dynamic community that supports scholars at all career stages during these challenging times. 

Štěpánka Zemanová
Prague University of Economics and Business, CZECH REPUBLIC 

Scholarly associations are an essential infrastructure for supporting International Studies. From my experience, I know that they help both in individual career paths and in the development of the discipline itself. At the same time, they promote the dissemination of knowledge to places where International Studies have been underdeveloped. They can connect previously isolated locations, make overlooked areas more visible, and bring them closer to the core. 

In this way, associations also operate in my region, Central Europe, where in recent decades, they have greatly contributed to the transformation of research and pedagogics in the entire field. Therefore, both my institution and I consider it essential to shape these networks and actively participate in their activities. European International Studies Association (EISA) is one of the key platforms in this context.  

I find that EISA is instrumental in supporting the academic development of scholars throughout Europe, including my own. I have benefited greatly from participation in several Pan-European Conferences, not only as a presenter, but also as a co-organiser. In 2018, when the conference was at my university, I served as a local host, gaining first-hand experience in facilitating large-scale academic events. 

Given my previous active involvement in international academic cooperation, institution building, and organisational governance, it would be a privilege to serve on the EISA Governing Board and to contribute to the association’s continued growth. I am prepared for any agenda that may be required. However, my specific interest lies in supporting the full participation of academics from disadvantaged and marginalised environments in European professional networks and in seeking new, innovative ways to promote EISA inclusiveness and outreach.