Budapest Open Society Fellowship (2026–2027): Academia & Resistance in Illiberal Times

The Budapest Open Society Fellowship is a prestigious academic program jointly offered by the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS CEU), the Democracy Institute (DI), and the Blinken OSA Archivum at CEU’s Budapest campus. The 2026/27 call invites applications under the theme:

Modalities of Resilience and Resistance: Academia and Society in Illiberal Times.

This interdisciplinary initiative investigates how societies, scholars, and institutions strive to resist and endure in times when illiberal governance, misinformation, and ideological manipulation pose growing threats.

Application Theme & Scope

Fellowship proposals should engage with questions such as:

• How do contemporary autocratic regimes manipulate populism, religion, neoliberalism, or biopolitics to undermine democratic norms?
• In what ways do illiberal regimes challenge facts, truth, and verification?
• How do academic and civic institutions organize forms of defiance—locally, transnationally, socially, or epistemically?

The program encourages creative, multidisciplinary research combining methods from humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, political science, and more.

Benefits & Support

• Senior Fellows: €2,600 net monthly stipend
• Junior Fellows: €1,500 net monthly stipend
• Artists-in-Residence: €2,000 net monthly stipend
• Housing: Provided at the Raoul Wallenberg Guesthouse (utilities excluded)
• Fellows are responsible for their own travel and healthcare arrangements.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet the following:

• Senior Fellows: PhD earned before 2018
• Junior Fellows: PhD earned in 2018 or later
• Artists: Hold a relevant university degree with a strong, recognized portfolio
• Must be fluent in English, as it is the working language at CEU
• Applicants must not have been full-time CEU employees or students in the past 5 years (contracts ended before Dec 31, 2020)
• Part-time or temporary former employees must have ended their contract by Dec 31, 2024
• Previous IAS CEU Fellows are not eligible to reapply within 7 years
• Reapplications are limited to 3 attempts within 5 years
• All nationalities are eligible, but visa requirements will be evaluated individually

Application & Deadline

• The application deadline is 20 September 2025, 11:59 PM CET.
• Required materials and full eligibility details are available in the official PDF call document on the CEU Democracy Institute website.

Why Apply?

If you’re a scholar or artist interested in exploring how societies and institutions resist illiberal regimes, this fellowship offers:

• A generous stipend and residency in Budapest
• S access to unique archival resources via the Blinken OSA Archivum
• Collaboration with scholars and practitioners at the cutting edge of authoritarianism and democratic resistance studies
• A vibrant intellectual community dedicated to democratic renewal and academic robustness