The American Political Science Association (APSA) and United States International University-Africa (USIU) are pleased to announce a call for applications from individuals who would like to participate in a workshop on “Conflict and Political Violence.” The two-week workshop will be held from July 20–31, 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The organizers, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will cover all the costs of participation (including travel, lodging, meals, and materials) for up to 26 qualified applicants. The workshop will be conducted in English.
The workshop leaders are John Clark (Florida International University, USA), Pamela Mbabazi (Mbarara University of Science & Technology, Uganda), Kennedy Mkutu (United States International University, Kenya), and Beth Elise Whitaker (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA).
Program information, eligibility requirements, and a web link to the online 2015 Application Form can be found online at the Africa Workshop website: www.apsanet.org/africaworkshops. The application deadline is March 15, 2015.
Workshop Fellows
The workshop is targeted at university and college faculty in the social sciences residing in Africa who are in the early stages of their academic careers. APSA welcomes applications from scholars who have completed their Ph.D. as well as those who are working towards completion. Up to four advanced U.S. Ph.D. students will also be accepted. All Workshop Fellows must be actively engaged in research related to political science, with preference given to scholars working on projects related to the theme of the workshop. Applications from fellows working on the following topics are especially encouraged:
- Economic motivations for violence, including natural resources and conflict;
- Identity-based conflicts (ethnicity and religion) and modes of conflict resolution;
- Electoral violence and the resolution of electoral conflicts;
- The mobilization and organization of rebel groups;
- International peacemaking and civil conflicts; and
- The regionalization of African domestic conflicts.
Fellows should be working on a discreet manuscript, paper, book chapter, or journal article that will be brought to the workshop for presentation and improvement, and can be developed into an eventual publication. Following the workshops, alumni will be eligible to apply for small grants to facilitate further research collaboration. All instruction will be in English and all participants should command a high level of proficiency in English.
Workshop Theme
The two-week program will examine research on the sources of armed conflict and mechanisms for resolving conflict. Through our discussions, we seek to situate research on African conflicts within the broader political science literature on peace and conflict and facilitate a dialogue between case-based and cross-national studies.
Sitting at the nexus between international relations and comparative politics, the program is divided into three parts: the first examines why political actors are sometimes unable to resolve their conflicts peacefully; the second explores the dynamics of conflicts; and the third section will explore mechanisms for resolving conflict. In addition, students will have opportunities to share their work and to receive helpful comments on their research projects. The workshop will address both substantive and methodological issues in the study of conflict and political violence as we seek to increase the visibility of Africa-focused scholarship in the broader political science literature.
Applications
To submit an application for participation in the workshop, first review the eligibility requirements on APSA’s Africa Workshop website and then follow the web link to the online 2015 Application Form. If preferred, a copy of the Application Form in Microsoft Word can be e-mailed to you upon request. Complete applications, including all necessary supporting documents, should be sent to APSA electronically by March 15, 2015; please email all materials directly to <africaworkshops@apsanet.org>. The final list of selected Workshop Fellows will be announced in early April.
Applications must be submitted in English, and must include:
- The completed Application Form (online at www.apsanet.org/africaworkshops).
- A detailed, recent Curriculum Vitae/resume.
- A 500-word statement that describes your current research plans or ideas and how it relates to the workshop theme.
- The draft working paper or manuscript in progress that you propose to take with you to the workshop. This can be a work-in-progress drawn from your current research, or part of a paper, article, or chapter under development. At a minimum, this should be a 2,500-word document that includes: 1) a 150-word abstract; 2) a description of research design; 3) a one-page bibliography of literature most relevant to your paper.
- Two letters of reference on official letterhead and scanned as electronic files. If you are a graduate student, one letter should be a letter of introduction from your supervising professor. If you are a researcher or faculty member, the letters can be from a former dissertation supervisor, a colleague or collaborator at your home institution or elsewhere, a university official, or an employer.
For questions, contact Andrew Stinson at africaworkshops@apsanet.org. Please do not contact the workshop leaders directly.