Reclaiming the margins in environmental research: Epistemic inequalities across Europe’s geographical and disciplinary peripheries

European research policy aspires to “spread excellence”, yet Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) actors from Southern and Central-Eastern Europe (SE/CEE) rarely occupy agenda-setting roles. In the context of academic capitalism, anchoring analysis examines how marketised competition, network centrality, and epistemic valuation shape meaningful participation, including leadership/coordination, control over work packages/budgets, and agenda influence. Evidence combines an online survey of 137 SSH researchers with two regional workshops (Bilbao and Pécs) on climate, energy, and mobility. We find cumulative advantage concentrates resources and coordination in established hubs; centralised collaboration networks reproduce supportive rather than leading roles; and SSH credibility and region-salient topics are undervalued. We propose mechanism-aligned remedies: front-loaded institutional capacity, coordination and leadership work-package allocation for SE/CEE partners, diversified evaluation criteria that recognise SSH, and monitoring that tracks leadership and budget control—not headcounts. We conclude that redistributing capabilities and decision rights is essential to equitable EU collaboration.