About us

At the end of 2020, following several rounds of discussions, the professorial staff of the Centre for EU Studies (CEUS) and the Ghent Institute for International Studies (GIIS) decided in favour of merging the two research groups. This decision was made based on the observation that content-wise there is more that binds the two groups than separates them, which implies that there is a lot of unexplored potential for synergies between the two groups. Moreover, in today’s academic landscape, the merged research group will stand stronger together in an effort to further professionalise and develop as a team .

The merger entered into force September 2021,  when the department moved to the Technicum building and CEUS and GIIS officially became the “Ghent Institute for International and European Studies” (GIES).

In terms of organisational structure, GIES is not led by a director, but instead functions on the basis of shared leadership. Specific clusters of responsibilities (e.g. education; research; admin & logistics; team-building & HR) are allocated to teams of two professorial staff. These clusters will be coordinated by means of regular ZAP meetings (monthly) and GIES meetings (tri-annual).

Research-wise, GIES has built a research profile that encompasses six interrelated research themes, namely (1) climate, energy and environment,  (2) global injustices, (3) geopolitics and strategy, (4) governance, (5) the EU and the world, and (6) international political economy.