GMF Announces 2018 Class of Rethink.CEE Fellows

The German Marshall Fund of the United States is pleased to announce its first class of Rethink.CEE Fellows. This new fellowship program, launched in early 2018, responds to current and coming challenges facing Central and Eastern European democracy, security, and transatlantic integration. The Rethink.CEE Fellowship is designed to support young policy experts and analysts from the region, and to enable them to undertake original policy research that can inform regional, European, and transatlantic policies. For this purpose, fellows will join GMF for periods between three and six months and benefit from the full array of intellectual and organizational resources of this transatlantic policy institute.

After a highly competitive selection procedure, the following eight fellows and research projects were selected for the 2018 Rethink.CEE Fellowship:

• Michal Bokša, Czech Republic: Russian Information and Economic Warfare in Central and Eastern Europe: Strategies, Impact, and Counter-Measures
• Daniel Hegedüs, Hungary: How to Anchor Democracy in the EU? An Efficiency Analysis of EU Measures Countering Democratic Backsliding in Member States
• Alexandra Ioan, Romania: Fostering Democracy from Abroad. Civic Engagement and Democratic Influence of Diasporas of Central and Eastern European Countries
• Maciej Kuziemski, Poland: Towards Political Commons - (In)formalizing Civil Society Organizations in Central Europe
• Asya Metodieva, Bulgaria: Foreign fighter mobilization in the Ukraine conflict
• Stanislava Topouzova, Bulgaria: Migration Governance in the Balkans: Coordinating State Authorities and Non-State Actors
• Magdalena Wnuk, Poland: MEPs from the Visegrad Four Countries - Do They Matter and What are Their Political Strategies in the EU?
• Andrei Yeliseyeu, Belarus: The Eurasian Economic Union Three Years On: Achievements and Failures

On these diverse challenges, Rethink.CEE Fellows will produce policy publications over the coming months and present them to regional and transatlantic decision-makers, experts, and publics.

“GMF is delighted to welcome this inaugural class of Rethink.CEE Fellows to our growing network,” says GMF President Karen Donfried. “Their work will substantially add to our focus and expertise on Central and Eastern Europe, a region facing mounting challenges to security, development, and democracy. This new fellowship program expands our long-standing efforts to support next-generation leadership and civil society in Europe’s East.”

Meet the 2018 Rethink.CEE Fellows »

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