Inaugural Cohort of Junior Fellows Conclude First Year at Global Institute for Advanced Study

The inaugural cohort of the Global Institute for Advanced Study (GIAS) Junior Fellowship Program is approaching the end of its first academic year, in which eight emerging researchers from across the globe held residencies at the Institute for Advanced Study at the Central European University (IAS CEU) in Budapest. The Fellows are now preparing to depart for their second year at various OSUN institutions around the world.

GIAS opened its doors for the first time in the Fall of 2022 with the ambition to provide a nurturing environment and a launching pad for the academic careers of talented international scholars. The program aims to help scholars develop a critical presence inside and outside academia and a strong voice in global scholarly debates.
 
GIAS emerged from a collaboration between IAS CEU and OSUN, expanding IAS CEU Director Nadia Al-Bagdadi’s efforts to enhance the Institute’s global presence and encompassing the former Global Challenges Fellowship hosted by IAS CEU and CEU’s Public Policy Department, supported by the VW Foundation.

The GIAS Junior Fellowship Program offers the advancements of a global interdisciplinary intellectual community based in solid partnerships among institutions. It also provides a safe space for curiosity-driven research so scholars can freely pursue innovative and independent inquiry. Providing long-term support for collaborative research in the form of network fellowships and research grants, the program allows young scholars to embark on a major research project early in their careers and to expand their research and professional networks. 

GIAS Fellow Dmitrii Asinovskii, studying the role of Soviet bureaucratic culture in foreign policy decision-making, will continue his research at the European Humanities University in Vilnius in September 2023. He is using a large collection of recently declassified CPSU Central Committee documents that have become available through the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History. This allows him to enhance his previous research with new evidence and stronger arguments.
 
“Even before receiving the fellowship, I had the idea to study the conspiratorial thinking of the Cold War superpowers’ leaderships,” he says. “This year, I have made significant progress in developing my argument, largely thanks to the discoveries made in the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives at Central European University. However, to fully carry out this project, I will need to conduct more extensive archival research, primarily in the British, American, and German archives.”

Youssef Mnaili will move to the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, where he will conduct an in-depth analysis of the political dynamics of settlement projects, drawing comparisons between the Israeli settler movement and Afrikaner nationalism. Throughout his fellowship, he has made significant progress on multiple manuscripts relating to the topic of settler projects and organized an authors’ workshop on “Indirect Governance in the Middle East and North Africa” with senior and junior MENA experts, with the aim of publication in 2024.

“The GIAS fellowship offers a remarkable platform for early career researchers like myself to share our progress and findings through various conferences, seminars, and workshops,” says Mnaili. “This exposure has not only facilitated further research opportunities but has also contributed to the advancement of my professional career. I will spend my second year at the renowned Wits Institute for Social & Economic Research (WISER) in Johannesburg. This opportunity will allow me to collaborate with esteemed experts in my field, benefiting from their valuable feedback and fostering an environment that encourages further intellectual exploration and personal growth.”

Find out more about the fellows on the GIAS website. 

Post Date: 06-29-2023