Dr. Irena Kalhousová is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Political Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, and Head of the Herzl Center for Israel Studies. Her research focuses on trauma and foreign policy, memory politics, Israeli politics and foreign policy, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and relations between Israel and Central Europe.

She holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a BA in Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Before joining Charles University, she worked at institutions including the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv and the Prague Security Studies Institute.

Research

Her current research examines how collective trauma influence foreign-policy behaviour. Her principal research achievements include:

• Principal Investigator of the Charles University PRIMUS project The Past Is Present: The Use and Misuse of Traumatic Historical Events in Foreign Policy (2022–2025).

• Co-editor, with Eugene Finkel, of the 2026 Cooperation and Conflict special issue “Trauma and Foreign Policy.”

• Author of the forthcoming Cambridge Elements book Our Jews, Our Israel! Identity, Memory, and Foreign Policy Toward Israel in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.

• Associate at the Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University, in spring 2027 [forthcoming]

Selected Publications

• Kalhousová, Irena. Our Jews, Our Israel! Identity, Memory, and Foreign Policy Toward Israel in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Cambridge University Press [forthcoming]

• Blanc, Emmanuelle, and Irena Kalhousová. “Conceptualizing the Foreign Policy Roles of States Dealing with Historical Trauma: The Case of Israel.” European Journal of International Relations 31(3), 2024: 744–771.

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• Kalhousová, Irena, Eugene Finkel, and Jiří Kocián. “The Traumatic Past Is Back: Historical Analogies and European Responses to the War in Ukraine.” International Affairs 100(6), 2024: 2501–2523.

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• Kalhousová, Irena, and Emmanuelle Blanc. “Acknowledging Pain: How States Seek Recognition after Retraumatization—Israel’s Case after October 7.” Cooperation and Conflict, 2026.

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• Vignoli, Valerio, Michal Onderco, and Irena Kalhousová. “Who Cares? Why the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict Matters (More) to Some EU Member States.” JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 2025.

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Teaching and Academic Leadership

At Charles University, she teaches and develops BA- and MA-level courses on:

• Israeli politics and society

• Israeli foreign policy

• The Israeli–Arab/Palestinian conflict

• Memory politics and foreign policy

As Head of the Herzl Center, she develops its research and teaching programme, international partnerships, academic events, and public activities.

She received the Faculty of Social Sciences’ Golden Course Award in 2021, 2023, and 2024.Public Engagement

Irena regularly:

• Provides expert briefings to both chambers of the Czech Parliament and the Office of the President of the Czech Republic.

• Comments on Israel and the Middle East for Czech and international media.

• Delivers public lectures at schools, libraries, and cultural institutions.

• Organises and moderates public discussions through the Herzl Center.

She is co-author, with Ondřej Kundra, of Izrael ve stínu 7. října (Israel in the Shadow of October 7), published by Respekt in 2024.

In 2024, she received the Karel Kramář Medal from the Czech Prime Minister for her contribution to public debate on the Middle East and the Miloslav Petrusek Prize from the Rector of Charles University for her contribution to the university’s public mission.

[Full academic CV] | ORCID

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