Call for Applications - Corridors Fellowships 2021

The Corridors Fellowship offers young and upcoming scholars and civil society experts from the Caucasus the opportunity for a research stay at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena (Germany). The program aims to facilitate academic exchange and to enhance dialogue, knowledge transfer, and practical cooperation between scholars and upcoming experts from the Caucasus and Germany. It is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in the framework of the East-West Dialogue. 

A particular focus of the fellowship is the promotion of intercultural academic cooperation. Therefore, we are keen to support a research tandem from different regions of the Caucasus. We encourage you to apply directly with a joint proposal and briefly describe the background and outline of your cooperation. The main objectives of the research work should be to provide an insight into the internal social and political processes and their relevance to the regional context, assess the prospects for conflict transformation and regional cooperation and contribute to the promotion of mutual understanding, confidence, and peacebuilding.

The fellowships have a duration of one month (preferable in August/September 2021) and cover travel costs and € 1.200 per person for living expenses in Germany. The selected fellows can make use of the Universities information infrastructure and library. Moreover, they can participate in related Corridors activities (a planned research workshop and summer school) and engage with experts from Jena University. Finally, the research tandems are supposed to finalize a joint paper until November, which can be published in our upcoming Corridors Proceedings Vol. III. Here we can provide support, for example, through mentoring and language editing services.

Applications are welcomed from scholars in the field of social science and neighboring disciplines with a keen interest in peace and conflict studies, and from civil society experts dealing with related issues from all regions of the Caucasus. 

Applications must be sent to info@opencorridors.de with the subject “fellowship” until 23 June and include the following documents: 

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae
• Project description (1.000 words maximum)

Please be aware that due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, certain travel restrictions may be in place, which could affect the fellowship.  

The Corridors Fellowship offers young and established scholars from conflict-affected societies in the post-Soviet space the opportunity for a research stay at German Universities and Research Institutes. The program aims to facilitate academic exchange and to enhance dialogue and knowledge transfer. It strives to deepen practical cooperation between scholars from the South Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Germany and to support research with practical relevance. The fellowships usually have a duration of one month and are fully funded from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). 

In 2019, we provided four fellows from Moscow, Odessa and Tbilisi with the opportunity for one-month research stay at the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena. The fellows used this opportunity to conduct their policy-relevant research, to contribute to the Corridors-Summer School, and to exchange with each other and with German scholars and experts. Tetyana Malyarenko from Odesa focused in her research on the lack of protection for individual human rights Donbas. She outlined opportunities how human rights protection and conflict management processes could be connected in Eastern Ukraine. Elena Levina from Moscow conducted her research on the related topic of civil society dialogue facilitation in protracted conflicts, with a focus on human rights protection in Eastern Ukraine. Her work was based on rich empirical data and an innovative methodological approach. Natia Chankvetadze and Georgi Kanashvili from Tbilisi explored in their work new opportunities and approached for engagement and conflict management in the protracted conflict around Abkhazia. The former explored the potential and limitations of cross-boundary trade in light of the Georgian policy initiative “A Step to a Better Future”. The later focused on the problematic situation for the population of the Georgian populated Gal/i region in Abkhazia and identified possible “Islands of Cooperation” between Tbilisi and Sukhum/i to improve conditions on the ground. 

In 2018, we provided three fellows from Moldova/Transnistria and Russia the opportunity for a one-month research stay to Germany. During their joint research stay in Regensburg, Mihai Mogildea from Chisinau and Anatolii Dirun from Tiraspol explored the interdependencies between the protracted conflict around Transnistria and the domestic political and economic development in the region. During the fellowship, they actively used the opportunity for an intensive exchange, further cooperation, and gave a joint lecture at IOS. During the public lecture the fellows shared and discussed their perspective on the interdependencies between the protracted conflict and the economic and political development in the region. Our third 2018 Corridors Fellow was Alexey Gunya from Nalchik. During his research stay he continued and presented his research on ‘Local communities in the Caucasus between conflict and development. Furthermore, the fellowship was dedicated to explore and develop concrete ideas for further academic cooperation between the North Caucasus and Germany. 

In 2017, three Corridors Fellowships were awarded to scholars from the South Caucasus. The one-month research stays provided the opportunity for joint learning, knowledge transfer and the further development of collaborative projects. With special emphasis, we addressed the topic of multi-lingual language education in conflict-affected regions. Corridors Fellows Rustam Anshba from Gudauta and Shalva Tabatadze from Tbilisi conducted their research on this highly important topic within the framework of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Both argued, that education in conflict-affected regions can become a tool not only of segregation but also for positive change, especially in ethnically and linguistically diverse societies like Abkhazia.