ACES addresses major societal challenges as they play out in a European context. Research themes range from environmental sustainability to promoting economic growth and from migration and integration to privacy and surveillance. ACES also tackles topical issues concerning the dynamics and direction of contemporary Europe, such as the rise of populism, Euroscepticism and identity politics, the future of the Eurozone and the challenges illiberal democracies pose to the rule of law. 

ACES is open to UvA researchers, ranging from full professors to PhD students, who study contemporary Europe and the EU across a wide range of disciplines. A Governing Board comprising representatives of the four participating faculties is responsible for strategic planning and budget allocation. The ACES office supports the Centre’s activities, including the organisation of events, and external communication, including the website and a monthly newsletter and other forms of publicity.

Mission

The Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES), a Research Priority Area of the University of Amsterdam, aims to become a world-leading interdisciplinary centre of excellence in research, education and public debate on contemporary Europe, the European Union, and its member states.

ACES is a partnership between the UvA faculties of Economics and Business, Humanities, Law, and Social and Behavioural Sciences. The range of participating disciplines is unique in Europe. Drawing on the expertise of disciplines as diverse as Political Science, Communication Science, Anthropology, Law, Philosophy and International Business, ACES addresses the most urgent challenges and questions facing contemporary Europe.

As a university-wide centre of excellence, ACES pursues three primary objectives:

• Promoting interdisciplinary synergy and collaboration between academic researchers across the university’s faculties
• Raising the academic profile, reputation, and impact of scholarly research on contemporary Europe at the UvA
• Increasing the wider visibility and policy impact of European research at the UvA while enhancing the quality of the public debate on contemporary Europe, by engaging a variety of audiences within and beyond the Netherlands

ACES intends to achieve these objectives by allocating a significant part of its budget to to supporting two-year interdisciplinary and cross-faculty research projects by ACES affiliates. Also, ACES organises an ambitious programme of academic conferences, workshops, and seminars,  leading to collaborative publications in top international journals and university press books.