our team
Michal Smetana
Michal Smetana is the principal investigator and head of ELISS.
He is also the coordinator of the Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP), and researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University.
His main research interests lie at the intersection of security studies, international relations, and political psychology, with a specific focus on issues related to nuclear weapons in world politics, arms control and disarmament, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, deterrence theory, and norms and deviance in international affairs.
MAREK VRANKA
Marek Vranka is a researcher at ELISS and the Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP). He also lectures at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University and leads the Prague Experimental Laboratory for Social Sciences.
His research interests involve social psychology and decision making, especially in relation to areas of morality and (dis)honesty. He studies psychological factors influencing the formation of attitudes towards nuclear and chemical weapons as well as towards peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Ondřej Rosendorf
Ondřej Rosendorf is a student of the doctoral program in International Relations at the Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, and a junior researcher at the Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP) and ELISS.
His research interests include issues related to political psychology, arms control and disarmament, and military diffusion.
Zakir rzazade
Zakir Rzazade is a junior researcher at Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP) and ELIIS, as well as a Ph.D. student at the Institute of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University.
His research interests lie within security studies, emerging technologies, and military innovation, with an empirical focus on the role and perceptions of unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous weapons systems in warfare and international security.
ISABELLE HAYNES
Isabelle is a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of International Studies, Charles University and a researcher at the Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP) and ELISS.
Her research is centered on the investigation of cross-national heterogeneity in public support for the principle of collective defence.
Michaela Nguyenová
Michaela Nguyenová is the PR & Media Manager at the Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP) and ELISS.
She is a graduate of Marketing Communication and PR at the Institute of Communication Science and Journalism, Charles University and a current Master’s student of political communication at the University of Amsterdam.