We are inviting research proposals for 3 fellowships in the Fall Semester 2016 (September 2016 to January 2017). The aim of the fellowship is to groom and train young scholars in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies and promote innovative, empirical research and fresh approaches to the study of conflicts and peace building. Our interest is in the following areas:
- New approaches to Peace and Conflict in Pakistan: We would like to shift researchers away from published, secondary sources or printed works towards empirical study of conflicts. This is our primary interest. We believe without fieldwork, case studies or without first-hand experience of investigating a conflict we cannot produce any meaningful study or scholarship. We would like to groom Fellows in the use of empirical methods that would best suit their research problem.
- Contemporary Conflicts in Pakistan: The focus should be conflict situation in Pakistan today—radicalism, sectarianism, ethnic nationalism and threat of separatism and Talibanization. Besides, there are social conflicts like tribal feuds and conflicts over resources. Political violence is another area of interest. We would also invite proposals on internally displaced persons, refugees and internal migration demonstrating impact on social stability and order.
- Peace Building: We are interested in proposals that explore relevance of traditional social, political or other channels of peace building and how they can be used to help settle specific conflicts. A proposal may assess if these mechanisms have lost relevance and efficacy, if so, what lessons from rest of the world can Pakistan apply in peace building.
- Conflict Resolution: Proposals should be informed by theoretical literature on conflict resolution and case studies of conflicts from other countries. They should offer research-based solutions to wide range of contemporary conflicts in Pakistan.
Eligibility: Pakistani nationals with BS Honors (16 years education) MA, MPhil, PhD or equivalent degree from a well-recognized university in the following fields: Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, International Relations, Defense and Strategic Studies, History, Anthropology and related subjects. Our preference will be for graduates with high academic merit and achievements. All candidates must have an interest in research and teaching profession.
Compensation and Tenure: Each fellow will have a fixed, non-renewable tenure of six months and will be paid Rs. 70,000 per month and Rs. 70,000 for the field work relating to his or her paper. LUMS will provide work space, internet facility, access to library and online resources and research assistance. During the fellowship period, the Fellows will be on leave from their parent organizations, if any, and will not take another job or assignment. At LUMS, they will work full-time, participate in the academic activities and make one in-house presentation on the subject of their research.
Faculty Advisors: A faculty advisor will be assigned to each fellow, depending on the convergence of research interests of the two. Each fellow will meet his/her advisor twice a month. The Fellows will be given concurrent affiliation with the Mahboob-ul-Haq Center for Human Development at LUMS and with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Fellows will be devoted fully to research and not teach at LUMS or any other place.
Deadlines: Last day of submission of research proposals is August 15, 2016. Only short-listed candidates will be called for interview in the last week of August. You may send soft copies of proposals along with CVs to Mehreen Jamil, Programme Coordinator at: mehreen.jamil@lums.edu.pk.
Phone: 042-35608114
For inquiries regarding the programme contact:
