International Crisis Group to Offer Fellowships Focusing on the Economics of Conflict

Jan 20 2017
By Sarah M. Binder
Source Woodrow Wilson School

The International Crisis Group (ICG) is partnering with Princeton University’s Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC) project to launch a new postdoctoral fellowship program focusing on the economics of conflict.

Founded in 1995, the ICG is an independent nongovernmental organization that aims to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world. Its network of independent, field-based experts provides detailed analysis on approximately 70 active and potential conflicts worldwide.

The new two-year fellowship program starting in fall 2017 aims to recruit the next generation of top conflict scholars with expertise in economics, political science, public policy and related fields; the first class of fellows will focus on state corruption and the financing of non-state armed groups. Fellows will be mentored by ESOC scholars at Princeton; Stanford University; Washington University in St. Louis; University of California, San Diego; or the University of Chicago.

“This new postdoctoral program will help ESOC and the Woodrow Wilson School meet our shared mission of enabling better policy through research and education. Partnering with ICG will enable emerging scholars to build rich networks on the policy communities in the areas they study, feeding research and policy engagement throughout the next phase of their careers,” said Jacob N. Shapiro, co-director of ESOC and a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. “We are honored to be working with ICG to bring new skills and analytical methods to their important mission.”

The fellowship program is supported by a $500,000 initial challenge grant awarded by Alexander Soros. Soros is a member of the ICG board of trustees and founder of the Alexander Soros Foundation, a grant-making organization promoting civil rights, social justice and education in the United States and abroad.

The Empirical Studies of Conflict Project identifies, compiles and analyzes micro-level conflict data and information on insurgency, civil war and other sources of politically motivated violence worldwide.