Institute of International Relations Prague (IIR)

The Institute of International Relations Prague (IIR) is an independent public research institution which conducts excellent academic research in the larger field of international relations, which includes European studies, security studies, area studies and other related disciplines. IIR has been the leading academic institution for the study of international relations in the Czech Republic since 1957 and it is also an active member of several international research networks. With its research, it sets national benchmarks for the quality of scientific research in International Relations.

As an independent institution originally founded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IIR also provides policy analysis and recommendations. It serves as a hub for academics, policy makers and the general public. It stimulates expert, intellectual and public debates on the Czech foreign policy, European affairs and global issues. The IIR also publishes two academic peer-reviewed journals: New Perspectives; and Czech Journal of International Relations. The Research Department of the IIR is subdivided into individual centres focusing on European affairs (including security and arms control), political economy, emerging technologies, international law (including human rights), Asia and the Middle East.

Besides being a research institute with an important role in policy-oriented analysis of international relations of the Czech Republic, the IIR and its researchers also conduct multiple public outreach activities. The annual public flagship events of the IIR organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs include the Prague European Summit, Symposium on the Czech Foreign Policy, and the Czernin Security Forum.

Contact:
Institute of International Relations
Nerudova 3
Prague 118 50
Czech Republic
www.iir.cz

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Representative

Matúš Halás
Head of the Centre for European Security

Contact: halas@iir.cz

Matúš Halás is Head of the Centre for European Security at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. He previously taught strategy at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia, and he also worked as an assistant professor at the Institute of European Studies and International Relations in Bratislava, Slovakia.

He received his Ph.D. in International Relations from Charles University in Prague, and has published articles in journals such as European Security, Geopolitics, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, or Europe-Asia Studies.

His research interests include deterrence theory, (critical) geopolitics, game theory and security in Europe. On the occasion of 2019 Czernin Security Forum he prepared a policy paper on a global arms control regime on short- and medium-range missiles as an alternative to the recently defunct INF Treaty.