21687: schuppert: SSRC Research Grants - West Africa; Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia; Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: schuppert <schuppert@ssrc.org>

****Collaborative Action Research Grants on
Globalization, State Capacities, and Violent Conflict***


The Social Science Research Council announces a competition for Collaborative Action Research Grants to qualified teams (such as scholars, NGO professionals, journalists, and lawyers) who currently reside or work in places beset by violent conflicts directly tied to issues of state capacities.  More broadly, these grants are part of a project that will create a global network of researchers-whose focus will be globalization and conflict-pursuing conflict analysis by using a variety of empirical and theoretical methods.

This request-for-proposals invites collaborative research (by teams of researchers) on globalization, state capacities, and violent conflict. These grants will fund research and problem-solving activities that explore the relationship between processes of political and economic globalization, violent conflict, and state strength.

The applicant(s) should involve more than one researcher; teams can be comprised of two or more qualified individuals.  Each grant-which is US$10,000-will support work for four to six months.  The deadline for proposals is September 1, 2004.  More details of these conditions are below.

The geographical areas of interest in this grant round are:

	*	West Africa

	*	Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia

	*	Haiti


Purpose of the Grants

A number of prominent theorists posit the danger of diminishing both the legitimacy and the capacity of the state's monopolization of organized violence. Several external factors may combine to reduce the state's ability to control borders, prevent illicit flows of contraband, arms, etc.; deter the formation of gangs and militias; prevent incendiary speech and mobilizations; and deal successfully with other early signs of armed conflict.  The state's capacity for adjustment to economic shocks is also cited as a possible cause of instability.  Even the trend toward the transnational in politics and governance may contribute to the weakening of the state. We hope that researchers will examine such phenomena to understand how the changing role of the state may itself affect the onset, course, and duration of armed conflict.

Questions to be asked include: How does this possible trend toward the weakening of states combine with international pressures for "marketization"?  In what ways do the two reinforce each other?  Does the ethos of deregulation affect both national economic and political institutions?  In what ways, if any, do international policies create deleterious incentives for political leaders?   A second set of questions involves institutions.  Security institutions are paramount in the prevention or amelioration of armed conflict, but others---such as schools and health services---have pivotal roles to play in maintaining or building the social conditions of peace.  How do we measure institutional robustness, its relationship to new economic and political pressures, and its implications for stability?  How does political globalization, particularly the situating of more functions of governance in multilateral institutions, affect the state's capacity to govern and prevent war?   Finally, in what ways is regime type a key variable in explaining the ability of the state to adjust both to the pressures of globalization and the sources of instability and conflict?

The grants for collaborative action research are to explore the relationship, if any, between these processes of globalization and changing patterns in state capacities in the developing world.

Team activities should contribute to the generation and exchange of new knowledge and data.  The research ought to contribute to a critical analysis or evaluation of the practices, policies, and politics of actors involved in the conflicts.  These could include, for example, international financial institutions and other international organizations; governments of the major industrialized countries; multinational corporations and private enterprises; private armies and militias; local and national government officials and institutions.  Researchers should consider if and how globalization is differentiated from colonialism and postcolonial development practices.

While the principal activities under this grant should be to enhance understanding of the causes of conflict, the research teams may present strategies for conflict resolution in the pertinent regions being studied, if appropriate, as well as policy recommendations designed to address sources of insecurity in their region.  The object of study can be historical, that is, a conflict that has ended.

Research collaboration---involving, for example, comparative analyses or collaborative data collection---could be facilitated by activities such as workshops, networks, and other forms of intellectual exchange.  While theoretical insights and theory building are welcome, they should be based on empirical research.

Funded activities should lead to the production of tangible outputs such as jointly authored articles for academic and policy/practitioner audiences, research reports, edited volumes, listserves, Web sites, or symposia for the public dissemination of research findings. The Social Science Research Council can, where appropriate, assist in the implementation of projects and the dissemination of research.

The Social Science Research Council

SSRC is an independent, non-governmental research organization founded in 1923.  It organizes research in the public interest in dozens of issue areas.  This grant opportunity is sponsored by SSRC's Program on Global Security and Cooperation.  More about the Council and the program can be found on our Web site, www.ssrc.org.

Eligibility

	*	Projects should be led by practitioners and/or scholars in the early stages of their careers, but may involve other more senior individuals.
		- Practitioners (including nongovernmental and multilateral organization professionals, activists, journalists, and lawyers) must possess between 5 and 15 years of professional experience.
		- Scholars must have a PhD or have a Masters degree plus research experience.   PhD holders must have received the degree less than 10 years ago and those with Masters must have received the degree less than 15 years ago.
	*	Individuals who are both scholars and practitioners are encouraged to apply. They should meet at least one of the above categories of eligibility.
	*	Applicants should either reside or work in the zones of conflict mentioned above.
	*	There are no nationality or citizenship restrictions and the SSRC encourages applications from women.

Terms

	*	The grant is for a period of four to six months.
	*	Applications can be submitted jointly by two or more individuals.
	*	The start date for all grants must be November 1, 2004.
	*	A written final product is required.

Guidelines for Applications

Applicants should submit the following four items in English:

(1)	A double-spaced proposal (in no smaller than 11-point font and no more than 10 pages in length) organized in separate sections describing:
	*	Research Design.  The nature of the research project (identification of the problem, relevant theories) and the kind of activities required to carry out the investigation (empirical research, methods, feasibility);
	*	Credentials.  How and why applicants are qualified and well-positioned to carry out the research design and the strategies for problem solving.
	*	Collaboration.  How the exchange of knowledge is essential for research on this particular problem, and how the applicants will forge links to researchers, institutions, and networks other than the ones with which he or she already directly works on a regular basis;
	*	Impact.  How the project will affect policy and practices in the area of conflict and peace; and
	*	A detailed timetable for carrying out the project.
(Each of the above five sections should have a clear heading.)

(2)  A budget, on separate pages, not to exceed US$10,000, detailing and justifying all anticipated expenses.

(3)  A CV for the applicants of no more than 3 pages specifying:
	*	Current address and contact information;
	*	Personal and professional experience relevant to conflict and peace processes;
	*	Education;
	*	Professional positions and responsibilities;
	*	Languages and level of proficiency in each; and
	*	Recent publications.

 (4)  Two letters of recommendation, sealed with the referee's signature over the seal.

All application materials, including letters of recommendation, should arrive in one envelope and must be received by September 1, 2004.

Awards will be announced in October 2004.
For more information, please contact:

Program on Global Security & Cooperation
Social Science Research Council
2040 "S" St. NW, Suite 201
Washington, DC 20009, USA
Email: schuppert@ssrc.org <mailto:schuppert@ssrc.org>
Tel  202-332-5572
Fax 202-332-9051
www.ssrc.org/programs/gsc <http://www.ssrc.org/programs/gsc>

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