IMESS Dissertation
The research dissertation is the most important part of the IMESS programme and showcases the sum of your achievements during the two-years of study.
Preparation for the IMESS dissertation starts early, during the first year, while producing the 20-25,000 word long dissertation, constitutes half of your workload during the second year. Much of the research training undertaken in the first year facilitates the production of a substantive research-based dissertation.
Working on your dissertation, you will be pursuing original research on a topic of great personal interest. It will also equip you with invaluable skills for your future career, either in high level public and private sector institutions or in academia. A number of IMESS dissertations have formed the basis for articles in peer reviewed academic journals.
The expertise of the second year IMESS partner universities varies greatly and your dissertation will be best served by seeking a close match with the specialisms on offer. Most major interests can be catered for, but particularly encouraged are topics related to the following themes:
Economics and Business Track
- Banking and financial stability
- Comparative economics
- Corruption studies
- Development studies / development economics
- Fiscal and monetary policies
- Foreign Direct Investment policies / investment promotion
- Game theory and its applications
- Institutional economics
- International political economy
- Migration studies
- Sustainable development
- Transition studies / transition economics
- Theory and practice of international trade
- EU Economic Governance
- Economic aspects of EU enlargement
- Regional economic integration in Europe
- Financial Systems in the EU
- EU and the global economic system Mechanisms of the internal market
- EU economic policy
- Entrepreneurship and small-and-medium sized enterprise development in Central & Eastern Europe
- Health care sector
- Banks and Banking in Central and Eastern Europe
- Eastern Enlargement of the EU and Its Consequences
- Economic Development, Transition and Growth
- Economic Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe
- European Economic Policy
- Financial Crisis and Its Consequences
- Foreign Investments in Central and Eastern Europe
- Health Service and the Problems of Ageing in Central and Eastern Europe
- Post-communist Countries in International Trade
- Oil and Gas between Europe and Eurasia
- Public Finance Advanced (including Central European Financial Markets)
- Economic impact of COVID-19
- Economic consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine
- Growth and environmental issues
The research centres at Charles University where students can participate and do their research in collaboration with research fellows are listed here.
- The connections between fiscal policy and the governments ideological composition
- Linkages of labour mobility with firms innovative activities
- Impact of international work experience on entrepreneurship
- Dynamics of the exports of services at the firm-level
- Innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth: advanced and developing countries’ differences
- The role of economic and political institutions in entrepreneurial activity
- Entrepreneurship and economic development
- Micro and macro factors affecting entrepreneurship
- Institutional structure and entrepreneurial activity
- Assessment of human capital in PIAAC framework: cross-country comparisons (PIAAC - Program of International Assessment of Adult Competences)
- Assessment of human capital in PISA framework: cross-country comparisons (PISA - Program for International Student Assessment)
- Study achievements as potential for creating new human capital: Estonia and cross-country comparisons (PISA database)
- Cross-border labour migration
- Social capital and spread of internet
- Tax burden shift in the European Union
- Alcohol consumption patterns in the Baltic countries (data from survey)
- Implications of financing frictions faced by innovative activity on productivity, growth and development
- The impact of financial institution structure and regulatory institution structure of the economy on the innovative activities of firms
- Random coefficients, endogeneity, and cross-sectional dependence in linear and non-linear panel data models with large number of individuals
- Motives and Institutional Distance of FDIs of Estonian MNCs
- Divestments of Estonian MNCs
- The Internationalization of Estonian Firms
- Phases of International New Ventures in Estonia
- A Model of Export Sales Management Behaviour based on Estonian Firms
- Animosity related to products (Estonia vs Russia, Ukraine vs Russia)
- A Meta-Analysis of International Joint Ventures (IJVs)
- Mergers and Acquisitions Strategy in Estonia
- Green Export Marketing Strategy of Estonian Firms
- International Joint Ventures in Estonia versus
- Germany Global Branding versus Local Branding
- PPP in Estonia – Changes and Limits
- Public Choice Approaches to Fixing Fees and its Critique
- The Role of Public Sector Firms in the Innovation System of Estonia
- Comparative Analysis of Innovation Policies in EU
- R&D Funding: Models and Critique
Politics and the International Economy Track
TBC
- Banking and financial stability
- Comparative economics
- Corruption studies
- Democratisation processes and backsliding
- Development studies / development economics
- Foreign Direct Investment policies / investment promotion
- Institutional economics
- International political economy
- Migration studies
- Sustainable development
- Transition studies / transition economics
- International Aid Policies
TBC
Long-term economic development
Income and wealth inequality
From fiscal states to modern welfare states
Consumption and everyday life
History of economic policy
Causes and consequences of intersecting inequalities
History of economic thought
History of economic crises political economy of the welfare state
Globalisation waves and business history
General impacts of environmental crises
- Central and Eastern Europe in International Context
- Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Area
- Democratic Development
- Eastern Enlargement of the EU and Its Consequences
- Economic Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe
- European Economic Policy
- Financial Crisis and Its Consequences
- Insurgency in Post-Soviet area
- Post-communist Countries in International Trade
- Oil and Gas between Europe and Eurasia
- Parties and Elections
- Political Systems of East Central Europe
- Political Systems of the Post-Soviet Area Public Finance Advanced (including Central European Financial Markets)
- Regional Integrations in East-Central Europe
- Security Issues in the Caucasus and Central Asia
The research centres at Charles University where students can participate and do their research in collaboration with research fellows are listed here.
- Comparative political economy
- EU economic governance (European Semester, Recovery and Resilience Facility)
Politics and Security Track
- Security system of Serbia
- Security in post-communist Balkans
- Political anthropology
- Politics in post-communist Balkans
- Corruption studies
- Democratisation processes and backsliding
- Development studies / development economics
- Europeanization processes
- Geopolitics / Geostrategy
- International political economy
- Migration studies
- Non-state actors in international politics
- Small state studies
- Social policies and the labour market
- Sustainable development
- The changing nature of European national elites
- War and peace studies
- Nation, nationalism and identity construction in Central Europe
- Transatlantic relations in the post-Cold War world
- International security in the post-Cold War Europe
- EU on the global political stage
- Germany in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Finland’s foreign policies
International politics and security in the Baltic Sea region and beyond
Post-Soviet space
The significance of the Nordic/Scandinavian Cooperation
Regional institutions
Neutrality as a pattern of Finnish security policy
Cold War and Post-Cold War international and economic relations in North-East Europe
Politics of memory in North-East Europe
European integration in a historical and cultural perspective
Small states as political actors
International security organizations (League of Nations, NATO, UN)
Borders and citizenship
- Central and Eastern Europe in International Context
- Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Area
- Constitutional Transformation of States in Central and Eastern Europe
- Democratic Development
- Eastern Enlargement of the EU and Its Consequences
- Insurgency in Post-Soviet area
- Migrations and Refugees
- Oil and Gas between Europe and Eurasia
- Parties and Elections
- Political Systems of East Central Europe
- Political Systems of the Post-Soviet Area
- Politics of History
- Populism – Causes and Manifestations
- Regional Integrations in East-Central Europe
- Security Issues in the Caucasus and Central Asia
- Cyber-security and hybrid warfare
- Illiberal democracy and its prospects
- Western Balkans and the EU
The research centres at Charles University where students can participate and do their research in collaboration with research fellows are listed here.
- Traditional and critical geopolitics
- Borders, territorial disputes, cross-border cooperation
- Secessionist conflicts and unrecognized countries
- Questions of territoriality and sovereignty
- Power sharing and liberal peacemaking
- EU enlargement
- Biopolitics
- Russian foreign and security policies
- Regionalism and federalism
- EU-Russia relations
- Common neighborhood
- Arts and politics
- Sport megaevents
- International law
- EU-Turkey relations
- Theories of liberalism, democracy, nationalism, nation-statehood, federalism, sovereignty, international peace and order, self-determination of nations
- International economy
- International conflict
- International organizations
- Global problems
- International relations in the Baltic Sea region
- Relations between Russia and the Baltic States
- Foreign policy of the Baltic states
- Politics of collective memory and international relations
- Identity in international relations
- Self-determination and secession
- State-making
- International recognition
- Territorial disputes and conflict
- Contestation of political authority
- Political violence and extremism
- Politics of history and memory
- History of the Russian Empire, Eastern Europe, and Soviet Union
- Language policy and politics
- Theories of nationalism
- Border studies
- European neighborhood policy and democracy promotion
- Comparative political economy
- EU economic governance (European Semester, Recovery and Resilience Facility)
History and Society Track
- Globalization
- Early modern history in the Western Balkans
- Political anthropology
- Cultural anthropology
- The Balkans in modern history
- Societies in post-communist Balkans
- Cultural anthropology of Central Europe
- Human rights and idea of tolerance in Europe
- Migration and identity in Europe
- Philosophy, politics and Central Europe
- History of Central & Eastern Europe
- Cultural polices in Europe
- Classical Russian thought
Nationalisms in historical and comparative perspective
History of political thought and political ideas
The origins of the welfare state in the Nordic countries and beyond
History of political consensus and corporatism
Finnish-Russian relations
Soviet Union and communism
Political mobilization and social movements
Gender in history
Minorities and marginal groups in history
Theory of history and historical thought
Politics of History and presence of history, memory
History of design and the material culture of everyday life
Baltic Sea region environmental history
- Central and East European Jewry
- Cold War
- Concepts and Interpretations of the History of East-Central Europe
- Cultural Studies
- Democratic Development
- Eastern Enlargement of the EU and Its Consequences
- Ethnic and Nationality Problems
- Health Service and the Problems of Ageing in Central and Eastern Europe
- Holocaust studies
- Media and Society
- Memory and Politics
- Migrations and Refugees
- Nation and Religion
- Populism – Causes and Manifestations
- Visual arts and politics
- Cultural Wars in East-Central Europe
The research centres at Charles University where students can participate and do their research in collaboration with research fellows are listed here.
