The Collaborative Tri-continental Program was launched
in 2005 by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences
(CLACSO) and the Council for the Development of Social
Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) with the purpose
of carrying out high quality social science research
and enhancing the production of knowledge suitable for
fostering southern perspectives on critical issues,
and feeding these into global debates. The International
Development Economics Associates (IDEAs) joins the program
from 2013 onwards. The Program includes an annual South-South
summer institute, research conferences, and grants for
advanced research. The research grants are intended
to promote collaboration among researchers from the
South and to stimulate analytical empirical studies
on topics of relevance for their regions and for the
global South.
This call for applications is open to candidates of
all disciplines of the Social and Human Sciences, as
well as to researchers of other sciences with projects
linked to the main theme of the year: DEMOCRACY
AND EMPOWERMENT: CONTEMPORARY REALITY AND EMERGING ALTERNATIVES.
The aim is to explore the connection between democratic
renewal and the possibility of an experience with emancipation,
taking into account the needs, aspirations and histories
of the countries and populations of the South.
Neoliberalism has had a huge influence across the globe
in the aftermath of the crises of socialism and state-led
development. It has enthroned the market in all spheres
as the axis of social life and downplayed, indeed repressed,
democratic aspirations, especially when they directly
conflict with its credo. The problems generated by neoliberalism
have become increasingly clear though, and its appeal
has diminished. Yet, neoliberalism has endured in practice
and sought to legitimise itself by claiming to have
a human face, exemplified by measures to combat poverty
and deprivation, without addressing inequality or even
recognising the role of the market in adversely influencing
the distribution of wealth and income. With regard to
the strategy for development, despite its willingness
to bring in the state to save bankrupt financial institutions
and failing corporations since 2008, it remains committed
to a central role for the market mechanism.
If neoliberalism has been a crucially important element
in the oppression and exclusion of people worldwide,
several sorts of exclusions are being and have been
challenged by democratic developments and the empowerment
of collectives that thus far have had little voice and
little power to affirm their presence. The latter have
mobilized themselves in recent years and struggled to
change their situation of oppression and exclusion.
This has revived the discussion on alternative policies,
projects and practices, and given a new vigour to emancipatory
perspectives. Issues of class, gender, ethnicity and
race and agents connected to these identities have been,
in varied ways and with varied outlooks, at the forefront
both of specific struggles and of broader democratic
developments.
In the event, democracy has normatively become a central
element in a range of spheres and locations, even though
it has been conceptualized in very different ways and
its practice has suffered restrictions across the globe.
It has consistently offered instruments and ample space
for social mobilization, although it can and must be
deepened in order to become a more far-reaching empowering
institutional and practical component of modern societies.
The internal shortcomings of actually existing democratic
political systems are compounded and aggravated by the
pressures exerted by capital, especially footloose financial
capital moving across borders. As a result, the effort
at mounting a challenge to the neoliberal perspective
becomes difficult, although the last decade has seen
many an effort to question and undermine it and to seek
new directions for economic and social development,
albeit with limited success as yet.
-
How have these developments
unfolded in the South, in the countries in Latin
America, Africa and developing Asia?
-
What has been the impact of
democratic struggles and developments in terms
of popular empowerment and of the emergence of
alternatives in these diverse regions of the South?
-
Who has propelled democracy,
how has the political space evolved, and how have
political forces responded to these dynamics?
-
How have intellectuals contributed
to the understanding of this early twenty-first
century challenge?
-
Which specific characteristics
has democracy assumed in each of these regions
and the countries that constitute them, and what
have been the key advances and setbacks?
-
What are the alternatives,
relating to the full gamut of emancipatory perspectives
and issues that have emerged in the last few decades?
What lessons can we draw from those experiences?
-
Is it possible to discern common
patterns in these different regions? If so, what
are their commonalities and differences that need
to be emphasised and understood?
These are the broad themes that
this edition of the CLACSO-CODESRIA-IDEAs Research
Grants call would like to address. Research proposals
should be based on topics that fall under these broad
themes. Applicants are also encouraged to formulate
projects with a comparative perspective that are not
confined to one region or country, but rather develop
a broader frame of conceptual and empirical inquiry.
Although this is not mandatory, such proposals will
receive special consideration during the selection
process.
Eligibility
The call is open to researchers with some experience
who have masters or doctoral degrees. Candidates are
required to be supported by organizing institutions
(CLACSO, CODESRIA or IDEAs) or their host institutions.
The execution of the research will not exceed the
12 months period starting in July
2013. A mid-term report will have to be submitted
six months after the beginning of the research. A
final report will have to be presented no later than
30 days after the date of expiry of the grant period,
in accordance with the terms of contract to be signed
with the organising institutions. The final report
will include a text in an adequate format so as to
allow its publication after editing as a book or monograph
in paper or electronic format on the websites of CLACSO/CODESRIA/IDEAs.
Altogether 9 (nine) proposals
(three per region) will be selected with a maximum
grant of USD 10,000 per project. Funds can
be allocated without restriction to all activities
related to the research, such as information collection,
data gathering and processing, book purchases and
travel. Resources cannot be used for project designing
or for direct or indirect costs of the supporting
institutions.
Additional prerequisites can be specified by the organizing
regional institutes in keeping with their internal
rules.
Applications
Applications should include:
-
A research proposal presenting
the research problem and research methodology
(including the sources to be examined and a short
timetable), reviewing the relevant literature,
and indicating the relevance of the research to
one or more of the thematic areas detailed.
-
An academic curriculum vitae.
-
A letter of support signed
by an authority of the host institution.
As the Collaborative Tri-continental
Program involves the participation of scholars from
Africa, Asia and Latin America, it has been decided
that applicants who are residents in Africa should
submit their applications to CODESRIA, applicants
resident in Asia should submit their applications
to IDEAs and those in Latin America to CLACSO. The
full contact details for IDEAs, CLACSO and CODESRIA
are reproduced below for the attention of all prospective
applicants. Applications found to be incomplete
or which arrive after the deadline will not be taken
into consideration. An independent Selection Committee
charged with screening all applications received
will meet shortly after the deadline for the receipt
of applications. Successful applicants will be notified
immediately after the Selection Committee completes
it work. The results of the selection exercise will
also be published on the websites of IDEAs, CLACSO
and CODESRIA.
African applicants
should send their applications electronically to:
CODESRIA - 2013 South-South
Research Grants
Email: research.grants@codesria.sn
Website: www.codesria.org
Asian applicants
should send their applications electronically to:
IDEAs - 2013 South-South Research
Grants
Email: grants@networkideas.org
Website: www.networkideas.org
Latin American and Caribbean
applicants should send their applications
electronically to:
CLACSO - 2013 South-South
Research Grants
Website: www.clacso.org
Consults: prosur@clacso.edu.ar
The
deadline for the receipt of applications is June,
30th 2013.
May 2, 2013.
|