ZOiS - Zentrum für Osteuropa- und internationale Studien

The Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) is an independent, international, publicly funded research institute. It focuses on socially relevant social science research on Eastern Europe and communicating the results to politicians, the media and the general public.

Eastern Europe is and will remain in motion. The importance of dedicated regional research, which provides the necessary well-founded knowledge through long-term projects, is more evident today than ever before. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine underscores the need for our differentiated view of a region that eludes common terminology and attributions. A comprehensive and multi- or interdisciplinary approach is required to capture and communicate the diversity and dynamics of the region and its interdependencies.

Russia's war against Ukraine represents a turning point that not only confronts political actors worldwide, but also confronts research with major challenges. Data collection has become more difficult or impossible in some cases, cooperation has been broken off, adjusted or reorganized. The dimensions of the consequences of the war can so far only be guessed at. Only high-quality regional research anchored in the range of academic disciplines will be able to meet the associated challenges and provide important impulses for science, politics and public discourse.