As part of the project, we carried out the following events:

International Academic Conference “Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State and the Case of Western Europe”

 19 March 2026
 16:00–18:30
 Faculty Council Room (0.14), Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Łódź / online

At a time of growing geopolitical rivalry and internal tensions within Europe, the question of the meaning of sovereignty has gained particular importance. For some, it is an outdated concept; for others, it is a value that must be defended at all costs. As part of the project Sovereignty. The Revival of Sovereignty in Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union, carried out with the support of the International Visegrad Fund, the European Centre for Constitutional Research invites you to take part in two scholarly events devoted to contemporary debates on sovereignty, the nation-state, and European integration.

The first of these will be the international academic conference “Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State and the Case of Western Europe”, which will take place on 19 March 2026, from 16:00 to 18:30, in the Faculty Council Room (0.14), Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Łódź, and online. The starting point for the discussion will be Stanley Hoffmann’s famous essay “Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State in Europe”, revisited on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of its publication. The debate will focus on the continuing relevance of Hoffmann’s arguments concerning the role of the nation-state in the contemporary European Union, especially in the context of his distinction between “high politics” — encompassing sovereignty, security, and foreign policy — and other areas of integration.

The conference will feature distinguished scholars from some of the world’s leading academic institutions, including Milada Vachudova, Jan-Werner Müller, Andrew Moravcsik, Joseph Weiler, Erik Jones, and Charles Maier.

Presentation of country reports prepared within the project Sovereign: The Revival of Sovereignty in Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union.

 20 March 2026
 10:00–11:30
 Faculty Council Room (0.14), Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Łódź / online

The second event, a presentation of country reports prepared within the framework of the project Sovereignty. The Revival of Sovereignty in Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union, will take place on 20 March 2026, from 10:00 to 11:30, also in the Faculty Council Room (0.14), Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Łódź, and online. The meeting will provide an opportunity to engage with research findings on contemporary debates about sovereignty in Central and Eastern Europe. Reports prepared by researchers from Poland, Hungary, the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and Slovakia will be presented.

The authors of the reports are: Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski, Michał Matlak, Oskar Kosenda (University of Łódź), Adam Kerenyi (University of Szeged), Jelena Džankić (European University Institute), Kseniia Smyrnova (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), and Lucia Mokra, Jakub Szabó, and Matej Navrátil (Comenius University in Bratislava).

We encourage you to register — while registration is not mandatory, it will help the organizers better prepare for the events. The project is co-financed by the governments of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund, whose mission is to promote lasting regional cooperation in Central Europe.