Beyond borders supports research about borders and boundaries in past and present times. It promotes interdisciplinary exchange in the social sciences and humanities. The Call for Applications 2020 is open till January 15, 2021 and focuses on “Borders, Democracy and Security”. The ZEIT-Stiftung offers three types of Ph.D. scholarships: Start Up Scholarships for research project development, Ph.D. Scholarships for up to 3 years and Dissertation Completion Scholarships. We invite applications from Ph.D. students worldwide studying borders and bordering phenomena in different regions of the world. Both empirical research based on extensive fieldwork and projects centered on theoretical reflection are eligible for support. Innovative and challenging research questions as well as comparative approaches are highly welcome.

Presentation

The unprecedented travel bans and closures of national borders during this time of COVID-19 make borders more visible than ever before. However, the ad-hoc restrictions introduced in spring 2020 were selective: Citizens, permanent residents, migrant workers judged “essential” for health care, social welfare and public services could still enter “sealed” national territories. Other travelers such as temporary residents, visitors, circular migrant workers or refugees were excluded. The numerous images of extensive controls and closed doors, and at the same time, new forms of cross-border political, economic, cultural life that emerged in response, made clear how regionally and globally interdependent we have become.How does globalization influence the dismantling and the resurrection of borders worldwide, be they political, economic, cultural or intellectual? Which borders and boundaries are shifting and why? What kinds of new pathways of connections and cooperation are emerging in response? What kinds of historical processes have led to the transformation of borders and border regimes? How do these challenge longstanding power hierarchies? To what extent might cultural revolutions transform or pull apart borders and boundaries? Can democracy function beyond national borders? How are the relationships between citizens and state changing with respect to rights and social protection, and how does that differ in different regions of the world?Questions concerning borders, state transformation, democracy, social welfare, and security are the focus of the current call for applications for Ph.D. scholarships. We encourage applications for projects concentrating on following aspects, although other topics will also be considered:- the conceptual construction of borders,- the changing nature and functionality of national borders and its effect on regionalization,- materiality and symbolism of borders, - transformation of border and regional regimes,- supra- and sub-national integration,- citizenship and belonging,- security and securitization,- transnational social protection,- cultural borders and their manifestation in arts and cultural production.

Advisory Board

• Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Professor at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon President, African Studies Association of Africa 
• Michael Goebel, Professor of International History, Pierre Du Bois Chair Europe and the World, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva 
• Peggy Levitt Chair, Department of Sociology, Wellesley College, Associate, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University Co-Founder, Global (De)Centre
• Noora Lori Assistant Professor of International Relations Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University
• Steffen Mau Professor of Macrosociology, Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 
• Shalini Randeria Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), Vienna Professor of Social Anthropology and Sociology at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva Director Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy
• Ranabir Samaddar Distinguished Chair in Migration and Forced Migration Studies, Calcutta Research Group
• Jens Schneider Senior Researcher at the Institute of Migration Studies and Intercultural Studies, Universität Osnabrück Co-Founder, Global (De)Centre
• Sören Urbansky Research Fellow at the German Historical Institute Washington, D.C. 

Application

Please apply online with your research proposal, research plan and two letters of reference. 

Please prepare

• a research proposal (max. 7 pages for Ph.D. Scholarship and Dissertation Completion Scholarship applications and max. 5 pages for candidates for Start Up Scholarships, references excluded)
• a research plan with time schedule (max. 2 pages)
• a CV and
• a copy of your university degree

You can upload all documents at the end of the online application. Documents in PDF format are required.Two letters of reference by university professors should be submitted in the electronic form. Please activate the button below the supervisor´s data while filling in the online application form. Your reference will receive automatically an email request with the reference link. For references documents in PDF format are required. The file size is limited to 5MB. Submissions should be limited to a single document file.

We only accept fully completed applications.

The deadline for applications is 15 January 2021.

Until that date you may access and edit your saved application with your password. From 16 January 2021 access to the pages will be barred. The ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius reserves the right to request further documentation (notarized copies of your degree certificates in particular) for the second round of the applications.