Deadline for Applications: Friday, December 17, 2021
The University of Exeter's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS), in conjunction with the 'New Regionalisms' Working Group of the Arab Council of Social Sciences (ACSS), invites applicants to participate in a two-year research grant focused on examining China's relationship to the Arab countries of the Middle East. The project is supported by the Carnegie Foundation and led by Professor Adam Hanieh (IAIS), and successful applicants will receive mentoring and support from an advisory board of established scholars. Researchers will investigate a topic of their choice related to the project theme, and will be supported through a stipend of US$10,000, plus fieldwork costs (spread over two years).
Project Description
Existing research on China and the Arab world has largely focused on the significance of the Middle East’s oil exports to China’s economic growth. This focus on oil overlooks China’s growing relationship to the region across a range of other essential sectors, including financial markets, business and commercial activities, labour markets, and humanitarian and civil society initiatives. The rapidly evolving role of China in these sectors holds significant consequences for patterns of social and economic development in the region, yet these implications have not been adequately explored or analysed.
There are two major components to the project research. First, a mapping exercise will reveal the new flows, networks, and connections between China and the Arab countries of the Middle East, in addition to the various actors (both individual and institutional) that mediate these relations. Second, research into these sectors will seek to understand how China’s involvement in the Middle East is impacting established social and economic development in the region, including new forms of wealth generation and patterns of socio-economic exclusion and marginalisation.
Research findings will be disseminated through academic publications as well as a project website that will contain blog posts, Op-Eds and data visualisations that distil the key research findings for a wider popular audience.
Eligibility Criteria and Application Process:
· Applicants should be an Early Career Researcher in the social sciences, not more than 5 years out of a PhD. PhD students close to completing their study are also eligible to apply.
· Research outputs will be in English, with preference shown to applicants fluent in Arabic and/or Mandarin.
· To apply, please submit: (1) a 1/2-1 page proposal (max. 500 words) describing your proposed research topic and methodology, (2) a CV, and (3) a writing sample.
Please email your application to Professor Adam Hanieh, a.hanieh@exeter.ac.uk by 17 December 2021.
Please email your application to Professor Adam Hanieh, a.hanieh@exeter.ac.uk by 17 December 2021.