The Transatlantic Post-Doc Fellowship for International Relations and Security (TAPIR)

The TAPIR Fellowship is open to postdoc candidates who do research on international relations and/or international peace and security.

Application date: 1 February 2018.

THE TRANSATLANTIC POST-DOC FELLOWSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND SECURITY (TAPIR)

is open to candidates who have recently received their doctorate in social and political sciences or economics and whose research focuses on topics of international relations and/or international peace and security issues.

Fellowships are granted for a duration of 24 months to prepare fellows for a career in policy-oriented and international research at renowned think tanks and political consulting research institutes. Fellows spend three eight-month stays at research institutions or think tanks participating in the program – at least one on the Eastern, and one on the Western side of the Atlantic.

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

Center for Security Studies (CSS), Zurich
Chatham House, London
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), Helsinki
German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), Washington, D.C., Berlin, Paris
Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI), Paris
Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), Oslo
RAND Corporation (RAND), Washington, D.C.
SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations (SAIS), Washington, D.C.
United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Washington, D.C.
German Institute for International and Security Affairs/Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin.

Fellows will be supervised by a researcher at each host institute, while being integrated into the relevant research units or projects. Fellows will have the opportunity to work on issues of major and immediate political significance and to publish their work in journals or paper series that will be read by decision-makers worldwide. The fellowship aims to involve fellows actively in the work and research of leading international think tanks. It is not intended to primarily fund the completion of major individual publications or of academic peer-reviewed journal articles.

The fellowship consists of

a monthly stipend of Euro 1,800
a monthly allowance for health insurance of Euro 200.
and a one-time travel allowance of Euro 3,500 for travel to and from the host institutions.

Fees for residence permits are not included.

CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE FOR TAPIR

To be eligible for the Transatlantic Post-Doc Fellowship, candidates must have successfully defended their Ph.D. by the start of the program (October 1, 2018). Candidates must have a strong interest in working in a policy-oriented international environment and must demonstrate their ability to do so by excellence in academic work on relevant international issues.

Applicants must either be citizens of the U.S., Canada or Europe (in a broader geographical definition) or must have resided in the U.S., Canada or Europe at least for two-and-a-half years in the five years prior to the application deadline.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applications should contain

A 2500 word (maximum) research statement (excluding footnotes) that outlines a proposal for a project that would offer policy relevant insights into a key international policy question using a clear analytical framework. The statement should also touch on the relationship with the candidate’s past academic work (research proposal). This does not have to be limited to transatlantic issues.
A letter of motivation, maximum 1 page/400 words.
A concise Curriculum Vitae with a list of principal publications (max. four pages in total). Please state your citizenship if you are U.S., Canadian or European citizen OR details about your residency there (see above).
Two letters of recommendation (attached to your application or separately sent by your referees).

All files, including letters of recommendation, should be sent in

English language and in PDF format

to tapir(at)swp-berlin.org by

Thursday, February 1, 2018 (00.00 h MEZ).

Incomplete, faulty, or late applications will not be considered.

Successful candidates will be informed by May, 2018 and will start their fellowship on October 1, 2018. Please note: the nature of this fellowship requires that fellows be fully prepared to move overseas.

SELECTION

Fellows will be selected by a jury composed of members of the participating institutes. Selection criteria are the academic excellence of the candidate, policy consultancy experiences and the quality of the research statement and reference letters.

The decision of the jury is final and no appeal is possible. All candidates are informed of the outcome of their applications by e-mail.

FUNDERS

The program is funded by the participating institutes.

CONTACT

For further information, please see our FAQs or contact:

Marion Calistri

Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik

TAPIR and Third Party Funding Coordination

Ludwigkirchplatz 3-4 10719 Berlin

phone: +49 (0)30 88007-489

fax: +49 (0)30 88007-100

e-mail: tapir(at)swp-berlin.org

About the Author

Aptly described by the Independent newspaper as “a man of many parts”, Prof. Mahfouz A. Adedimeji is a Fulbright scholar, interdisciplinary researcher, university don, public affairs analyst, communication consultant, peace advocate, interfaith worker and public intellectual. He obtained his academic degrees from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, where he was a Professor of English (Pragmatics and Applied Linguistics) before his appointment as Vice Chancellor as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of Ahman Patigi, Nigeria, in February 2021. He started his academic career in 2000 at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, shortly after which he joined the services of his alma mater, the University of Ilorin. A man of eclectic academic background, Prof. Adedimeji was educated in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Markaz Shabaabil Islam, Iwo, Osun State and Markaz Ta’aleemil Araby, Agege, Lagos. He obtained advanced training in Education, Political Science, Communication and Media, Research and Peace Studies at the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) Virtual Institute for Higher Education Pedagogy (VIHEP); the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Virtual Institute for Higher Education in Africa (VIHEAF); Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, USA; University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana; and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana, USA. Apart from serving as a cultural ambassador to the US under the auspices of the Institute of International Education (IIE), New York, Prof. Adedimeji had won or co-won the research and conference awards/grants of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) of the National Research Council, Nigeria, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). He has written extensively for a wide range of newspapers and periodicals including “Unilorin Bulletin”, “Unilorin Watch”, “DeLight”, “National Pilot”, “Daily Independent”, “Daily Newswatch”, “New York Parrot” and “New Telegraph”, among others. A versatile academic and award-winning scholar, Prof. Adedimeji has attended academic conferences and undertaken research in several universities across Nigeria as well as in Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Australia, France and United States of America, among others. His hundreds of academic, Islamic and general/opinion articles have been published across outlets in Nigeria and beyond. He has also facilitated and participated in seminars and workshops both nationally and internationally. A former Head of the Directorate of Corporate Affairs of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Adedimeji was the Director of the Centre for Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, between 2013 and 2017. Apart from serving as Rapporteur-General to the Presidential Committee that organised the 2017 Federal Executive Council’s Retreat on Education in Nigeria, he has consulted for the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Nigeria Inter-religious Council (NIREC), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence and Corps (NSCDC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). For years, he was a Coordinator and Facilitator of the Executive Management Course of the Nigerian Army Education Corps (NAEC) and Editor-in-Chief of the “Journal of Peace, Security and Development”, University of Ilorin. He has also served as a resource person to agencies like the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Orientation Agency (NOA), National Institute for Security Studies as well as a number of Civil Society Organisations. He is a recipient of several awards and honours including those of the International Chartered World Learned Society, American Biographical Institute, National Congress of Nigerian Students (NACONS), Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ilorin, the Nigerian Army Education Corps, Postgraduate Students Association, UNILORIN, Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), UNILORIN, Students’ Union, UNILORIN, and National Association of Osun State Students (NAOSS), just to mention a few. A Fellow of bodies like the International Association of Research Scholars and Administrators (FIARSA), Institute of Corporate Administration, Nigeria, (FICAN), Society for Peace Studies and Practice (fspsp) and World Institute for Peace (FWIP) , Prof. Adedimeji is a former Member of the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) and until recently a Member of the Executive Council of the English Scholars’ Association of Nigeria (ESAN). He is a member of the Editorial Boards of Research in Pragmatics, journal of the Pragmatics Association of Nigeria (PrAN) and ANUJAT, an international multidisciplinary journal of the All Nations University, Koforidua, Ghana. He has about 15 books to his credit as author, co-author, editor and co-editor.