Drugs, Security, and Democracy Fellowship
The Drugs, Security and Democracy (DSD) fellowship program supports research on organized crime, drug policy, issues of governance, and associated topics across the social sciences and related disciplines. The fellowship seeks to develop a concentration of researchers who are interested in policy-relevant outcomes and membership in a global interdisciplinary network.
Fellowship Research Agenda
DSD-funded research must address the relationship among at least two of the following three themes:
- Drugs - Potential topics include, but are not limited to, international and regional drug policy, drug trafficking, organized crime, drug production, and impact on communities including youth delinquency and gangs.
- Security - Potential topics include, but are not limited to, issues of traditional and non-traditional security, public safety, the pluralization of security actors, the role of law enforcement, the accountability of police forces, formal and informal strategies to increase security, violence, instability, immigration and border security.
- Democracy - Potential topics include, but are not limited to, issues of governance, state responses to organized violence, civil society networks and how they mobilize against organized crime and drugs, the framing of incentives to develop appropriate policies, freedom of the press, impunity, corruption, and the relationship between state and non-state actors.
Examples of possible research topics that address the relationship among two of the three themes include: substance control in border regions, violence and electoral campaigns, human rights and security policy, and media and violence and global drug flows.
The program encourages interdisciplinary projects and those that address transnational and trans-regional issues.
Click here for examples of previously funded research projects.
Eligibility
The DSD Program features two competitions:
Dissertation Fellowship: This competition is open to PhD candidates worldwide who have an approved dissertation prospectus by July 1, 2012, but have not completed writing for final submission.
Research Fellowship applications are accepted from:
- PhD recipients worldwide who have completed their PhD within 7 years of the application deadline.
- Researchers who are citizens or residents of Latin America or the Caribbean without a PhD but with a master’s or the terminal degree in their field or equivalent professional experience. Applications from researchers in professions outside of academia are welcome.
For both competitions, applications are encouraged from citizens and residents of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Fellowship Terms
The DSD Program provides support for a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of 12 months of research. Candidates must spend at least three months conducting research in Latin America or the Caribbean. Fellowship amounts vary depending on the research plan; however, support will be provided for travel and living expenses as well as associated research costs based on a budget reviewed by SSRC. The fellowship is intended to support an individual researcher, regardless of whether that individual is working alone or in collaboration with others.
The fellowship includes mandatory participation in two interdisciplinary workshops, one preceding fellowship research and one upon completion of the fellowship tenure. Workshops will be organized by the Universidad de los Andes and held in Latin America in August. Travel and accommodations will be provided.
Deadline: January 20 annually.
The DSD Program is funded by the Open Society Foundations and the International Development Research Centre. The program is a partnership between OSF, IDRC, the SSRC, and Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.
Contact: Jessica Mack
Frequently Asked Questions can be found here.
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