Zespół Studiów Europejskich

Prof. dr hab. Józef Niżnik – Kierownik
Dr Joanna Fomina
Dr Andriy Korniychuk
Edit Zgut, MA
The ESU team will be broadened to include selected GSSR students in the coming years.
The European Studies Unit is an international group of researchers. The ESU research focuses on Europe as a specific civilizational entity, democratic change in Europe, European integration as well as its international context. The ESU members pay particular attention to the impact of the European integration on social, cultural and political changes in the Central and Eastern Europe states. These issues are discussed in the PhD dissertations, research publications developed by the ESU members in collaboration with international partners. In 2004-2009 the ESU team represented the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in the CONNEX programme (Connecting Excellence on European Governance) implemented as part of the 6th EU Framework Programme. The CONNEX participated in the Network of Excellence, working on a project “Efficient and democratic governance in a multi-level Europe”, coordinated by the Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung of Mannheim University.
PROF. JÓZEF NIŻNIK – Born on March 13, 1943 in Łańcut, Poland. In 1961-1966 studied philosophy and sociology at the University of Warsaw. Since 1973 employed in the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1971 Ph.D. in philosophy. In 1980 habilitation on the basis of the thesis: “Object of knowledge in social sciences” . In 1992 receives state title of professor. In 1976/1977 and 1984/1985 visiting professor in the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Co-founder and professor of the international Graduate School for Social Research at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Most of his research work has been devoted to the science policy, theory of knowledge and the border-line of philosophy and sociology, e.g. to the philosophy of social sciences and sociology of knowledge. Since 1987 collaborates with the Club of Rome and gets involved in international relations problems, global problems and the problems of integration of Europe. Member of the Committee for the Future Studies, “Poland 2000 Plus”, at the Board of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Over 100 publications in Polish and English in philosophy, methodology of social sciences, sociology of knowledge and since 1989 in global problems, international relations and the problems of European integration.
KATARZYNA ANDREJUK is Associate Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology. She was a member of the European Studies Unit until 2022. Since 2022 she has been leading Sociology of Migration Unit at IFIS PAN. Her professional interests include entrepreneurship, migrations, European Union and Europeanisation. She graduated from the University of Warsaw (MA) and Queen Mary University of London (LLM). She obtained her PhD degrees in sociology (from the University of Warsaw) and law (from the Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences). Her habilitation in sociology explored the significance of Ukrainian migrant entrepreneurship in Poland (“Ukrainian entrepreneurs in Poland. Structure and agency in the settlement process“, IFIS PAN, Warsaw 2017). She worked as a visiting scholar at the European University Institute in Florence (Migration Policy Institute), Herder Institute in Marburg, Helsinki University (Ruralia Institute), and University College London. She is head of the Sociology of Migration Committee of the Polish Sociological Association and head of the Research Ethics Committee at the IPS PAS.
JOANNA FOMINA (PhD) is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. She earned a Master’s degree in English from Jagiellonian University, Cracow; a Master’s degree in British Studies from Humboldt University, Berlin; and her Ph.D. in sociology from the Polish Academy of Sciences. She worked as Migration Expert at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and also coordinated the Europe without Barriers international coalition of NGOs working toward EU visa liberalization for the Eastern Partnership countries. Her academic interests include the sociology of EU integration, migration and migrant integration policies, Euroscepticism and populist polarisation, EU-Russia relations, migrant political participation and democratization processes in Central and Eastern Europe.
EDIT ZGUT was born in Budapest in 1984. She is a PhD student at the GSSR in the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, her main field of research is democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland and the constraining role of the EU. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Warsaw, Centre for Europe where she is teaching Central European cooperation within the European Union. She is a Rethink CEE fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a DemocraCE fellow at Visegrad Insight magazine. Edit previously worked at Political Capital research and Consultancy Institute in Budapest as a foreign policy analyst. She has been also teaching International Relations at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Hungary. Prior to joining Political Capital, she was working as a foreign policy journalist at various media outlets in Hungary. She earned her M.A. in political science from the ELTE and learned journalism at Bálint György Journalism Academy in Hungary.
ANDRIY KORNIYCHUK (PhD). An alumnus European Public Affairs (Maastricht University, The Netherlands) and Politics and Society (Lancaster University/CSS, UK), he obtained his PhD from the Polish Academy of Sciences after successfully defending dissertation dedicated to democratic legitimacy beyond a nation-state, with a particular focus on the EU. In the capacity of analyst, expert and researcher, Andriy gained rich professional experience during cooperation with NGOs, international organizations, research centers, central and local authorities, among others working in the areas of eastern dimension of the EU policies, democratic governance, civil society development, Polish and European migration policies. He authored more than 20 publications and provides expert input for media outlets in Poland, Europe and the US.
The ESU Working Papers
The ESU Working Papers is a research papers series presenting the works of the European Studies Unit members. The authors sharing their research results with the public hope to shape the scientific debate and promote exchange of opinion with other researches. The contents of the ESU Working Papers contain the list of the texts available in the electronic form, starting with the most recent text. In case a given Working Paper has been published in an academic journal or as a book chapter, the relevant information is provided. Regular citation rules apply to citing the ESU Working Papers series texts.
ESU Working Papers – Contents page
- Edit Zgut, 2021, Text: Multiple risks populism poses to democracy in CEE.
- Józef Niżnik. 2019. How to make nationalisms in the EU member states a pro-European force? Text
- Katarzyna Andrejuk 2018. Entrepreneurial strategies as a response to discrimination. Experience of Ukrainian women in Poland from the intersectional perspective. Text
- Joanna Fomina 2017. Economic Migration Of Ukrainians To The European Union: A View From Poland, in Pikulicka-Wilczewska, Agnieszka & Greta Uehling (eds.) (2017) Migration and the Ukraine Crisis, I-International Relations: Bristol Text
- Józef Niżnik 2016. Populism as a corrupted democracy Text
- Józef Niżnik 2016. Transformation of the memory and symbolism of local space in the process of European integration Text
- Katarzyna Andrejuk. 2015. Postawy wobec imigrantów w świetle wyników Europejskiego Sondażu Społecznego. Polska na tle Europy. Text
- Józef Niżnik. 2015. Euroscepticism and the concept of European interests. Text
- Józef Niżnik. 2009. Theories of Integrations and the Future of the EU. Warsaw, November.Text
- Joanna Fomina. 2009. „Imigration Policy Debates and their Significance for Multiculturalism in Britain. Working paper no 2/2009. Text
- Joanna Fomina. 2009. „Multiculturalism as an Antidote to Nationalism: But What Kind of Multiculturalism to Choose?. Working paper no 3/2009. Text
- Nelly Bekus. “Construction of the Nation in the Belarusian Political Discourses”. In Polish Sociological Review no1/2008. Text
- Józef Niżnik. 2007. „The concept of democracy in the European integration discourse in the enlarged Union”.Text
- Anna Gąsior-Niemiec. 2007. „Historia i pamięc na pograniczu”. Text
- Florentina Constantin. 2007. „The EU’s policy making and the practice of multi-level governance”. Text
- Krzysztof Iszkowski. 2006. „Richarda Coudenhove-Kalergiego: zapoznany wkład w integrację europejską”. Text
- Joanna Fomina. 2006. „The Failure of British Multiculturalism: Lessons for Europe”. In Polish Sociological Review” no 4(156) 2006, pp. 409-424).
- Monika Milewska. „Religious Aspects of the 20th Century Personality Cult”. (Paper presented at the British Association for the Study of Religions 50th Anniversary Conference: „The Study of Religions: Mapping The Field” at Harris Manchester College in Oxford, September 2004). Text
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