Building on its pioneering work in establishing interdisciplinary “area studies” fields in the US, the SSRC now catalyzes collaboration among scholars and institutions across world regions, promotes research at the intersection of “place-based knowledge” and global issues that shape communities, nation-states, and the world, and supports the development of new generations of scholars working at this intersection, especially in the global South. We seek to support research capacity building to address differences in resources and influence across scholarly communities.
How We Work
We facilitate the work of early-career scholars engaged in field research across the globe. We embed research opportunities in peer-to-peer learning environments that promote mutual support and collaboration, helping new generations of scholars amplify the visibility and impact of their work.
We encourage research that explores global power dynamics and efforts to transform them in local, national, and international settings. Our work encourages comparative and historical perspectives and attention to the ways in which global and local forces shape each other.
We develop and promote innovative modes of global scholarly collaboration that address the inequalities that characterize diverse scholarly communities. Our programs experiment with ways to achieve reciprocity among these communities through research partnerships and seek to amplify the work of social scientists from the global South.
Programs & Projects
The Abe Fellowship Program fosters the development of and connection between US and Japan-based researchers interested in policy-relevant topics. The program was established in 1991 by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP).
The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) supports independent African research on conflict-affected countries and neighboring regions of the continent, as well as the integration of African knowledge into global policy communities.
The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program supports scholars attending higher education institutions in the global South to produce the next generation of researchers, faculty, technocrats, and leaders.
The Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum mobilizes necessary knowledge to support the analytic capacity of the United Nations system and strengthen its understanding of conflicts: their causes, dynamics, and possible solutions.
The Understanding Violent Conflict program is a series of research collaborations with institutions in Africa and the Middle East, Europe, and Asia intended to expand scholarship on violent conflict around the world.
The International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) Program supports the next generation of scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences pursuing research that advances knowledge about US Indigenous or non-US cultures and societies.
The Transregional Collaboratory unites scholars across the region and the globe focusing on the implications of environmental issues such as saltwater intrusion, disruption of traditional trade patterns, and changing migration dynamics.
The Drugs, Security and Democracy program supports research to create a more systematized knowledge base on drugs in Latin America and the Caribbean and develop alternatives to modern drug policies in the region.
The Cuba Program is designed to extend scholarly relations between Cuba and the United States by organizing travel by researchers, enabling the translation and publication of Cuban scholarly works, and maintaining Cuban libraries, archives, and museums.
The Global Scholars Initiative is a multi-pronged effort to strengthen the English-language writing skills of Asian scholars working in Asian institutions and increase their success in publishing articles in English-medium journals.
China’s economic and geopolitical rise over the last two decades has included a growing presence and influence across the globe, not least in the Global South, where it is an important investor across multiple sectors. The UVC and CPPF, through a decade of activities, is a leading node for a growing, yet fragmented interest in China’s engagement with the world.
Research Development Workshops on Asia
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) invites applications to participate in one of two Collaborative Research Development Workshops focused on key issues in Asia, to be held virtually in June 2022. The workshops will focus on the social dimensions of climate change and the drivers and dynamics of migration.
Opportunities
Launched in March 2012, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) supports independent African research on conflict-affected countries and neighboring regions of the continent, as well as the integration of African knowledge …
The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program, launched in 2011, responds to an emerging dilemma within higher education in the global South caused by the extraordinary emphasis on increasing …