Programme

Political and social transformations are currently reshaping the European neighbourhood. Numerous countries in Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East as well as Central Asia are experiencing increasing social conflicts and economic problems. In recent years, mass protests have challenged the non-democratic regimes and revealed their inability to fulfil the promise of stability. Tensions between democratization efforts and the persistence of authoritarianism generally polarize societies, deepen the economic crisis and frequently result in on-going violence accompanied by important flows of refugees and migrants. The long-term objectives of both the Arab Spring and the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine – democracy, human rights and prosperity – appear today more distant than ever.

In light of this political and social context, issues of regime change and the transformation of the political systems are of great interest to public debate. For researchers specialized in these regions both the events of the last years and the very recent developments represent an important opportunity to formulate new research questions and redefine areas of the social science inquiry. With its scholarship programme “Trajectories of Change”, the ZEIT-Stiftung seeks to address historical and current transformation processes at Europe’s margins, each year focusing on a different topic.

Scholarships

The programme offered between 2014 and 2018 flexible funding schemes for Ph.D. students at various stages of their dissertation research as well as for graduate students in the phase of Ph.D. project development:

Ph.D. Scholarships

for Ph.D. students already enrolled in a Ph.D. programme at their university
duration: up to three years
monthly living stipend of 1,200 Euros
additional funds for participation in academic conferences and for fieldwork expenses
participation in yearly conferences and field trips

Dissertation Completion Scholarships

for Ph.D. students in the final stage of their dissertation research
duration: one year
monthly living stipend of 1,200 Euros
additional funds for participation in academic conferences

Pre-Doctoral Research Grants

for advanced graduate students
a single grant of max. 5,000 Euros supporting the dissertation project development, including small scale preliminary research and funds for participation in academic conferences (no living expenses)
participation in a dissertation proposal development workshop

Fieldwork Grants

for Ph.D. students already enrolled in a Ph.D. programme at their university and partly funded by other institutions
a single grant of max. 3,000 Euros supporting travel costs and research expenses during the fieldwork
participation in yearly conferences and field trips

Advisory board

Dr. Muriel Asseburg, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin, Germany
Prof. Peter Burnell, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Prof. Aurel Croissant, Universität Heidelberg, Germany
Dr. Sonja Hegasy, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin, Germany
Dr. Katharina Lange, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin, Germany
Prof. Marie Mendras, Sciences Po / Centre d'études et de recherches internationales, Paris, France
Dr. Mykola Riabchuk, Institute of Political and Nationalities' Studies, Kyiv, Ukraine
Prof. Frithjof Benjamin Schenk, Universität Basel, Switzerland
Prof. Oliver Schlumberger, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
Dr. Isabelle Werenfels, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin, Germany