CKF supports scholars and research institutions interested in challenging conventional wisdom on U.S. grand strategy, providing alternative visions for U.S. foreign policy, and engaging in research that can bridge the gap between ideas and policy. We are especially interested in foreign policy research projects from political science, international relations, history, or economics. However, proposals from all fields will be considered.
Grant Description
We are soliciting proposals on the following topics:
U.S. Grand Strategy and Military Interventions
- Explore topics and issues related to a grand strategy of restraint, including options for retrenchment.
- Consider the consequences of an increasingly multipolar world, including power transitions, especially for U.S. foreign policy in East Asia, Europe, and the greater Middle East.
- Address the unintended consequences and costs of U.S. military actions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere.
Alliances
- Provide new insights into topics related to alliance formation, burden-sharing/burden-shifting, entrapment, moral hazards, and the distinction between alliances and non-alliance security guarantees/partnerships.
- Evaluate the future of NATO, including assessing its membership policies, effectiveness, and relevance for U.S. grand strategy, as well as alternative, non-NATO security architectures for Europe.
- Evaluate areas where U.S. interests converge or diverge from European allies and partners and offer policy recommendations.
- Identify necessary preconditions for true European strategic autonomy, potential gains for the United States from such a policy and provide a roadmap for achieving those gains.
China
- Analyze China’s continued rise and possible barriers that could arrest its future great power status such as political cleavages, internal instability, demographic challenges, and economic constraints.
- Explore the risks and embedded assumptions of current and alternative U.S. military postures in East Asia, including forward deployment, offshore balancing, and limited presence.
- Explore avenues for productive engagement with China, including cooperation on shared interests such as peace on the Korean Peninsula, counter-terrorism, and security cooperation.
- Examine potential causes of conflict in East Asia and strategies for mitigation, and study the unintended consequences of U.S. diplomatic, political, economic, and/or military competition with China.
Grant Criteria
Grant applications should include:
- A two-to-five page abstract of the project. The abstract should provide sufficient detail for reviewers to assess the nature and feasibility of the idea.
- A CV or résumé.
- A brief, itemized budget.
- A timeline of activities for your planned project.
Final projects should be original and meet the highest standards of their field, and must not have been previously published.
Funding
Funding levels are commensurate with the requirements of the research and the host institution. Grants will be awarded of up to $25,000. Graduate students are not eligible for the program, but may apply for standard dissertation grants of $5,000 following the instructions of the dissertation grant RFP.
How To Apply for Foreign Policy Research Grants:
Applications are due by 9:00 AM EDT on Monday, April 10, 2023, and should be submitted through our online application form here. Please select “RFP: Foreign Policy Summer Fellowship” for your application. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they arrive.
Information about CKF’s overall approach to foreign policy and some highlights from existing grantees can be found on our main foreign policy page.
Please direct any questions to CKFForeignPolicyGrants@charleskochfoundation.org.