The Dahrendorf research projects and Symposia, a joint initiative by the Hertie School of Governance, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Stiftung Mercator, are an on-going project that brings together leading academics form Germany, the UK and beyond to discuss global issues from an inter-disciplinary and European perspective. The results are presented to a broader audience in bi-annual symposia and to an expert audience in a variety of additional events (workshops, lectures and seminars).

The next Dahrendorf Symposium will be held in Berlin from May 25-27, 2016 and focuses on “Changing the European debate: Europe and the World”. Five working groups are encouraged to reflect, discuss and critically question the relations between Europe and the core regions of the world economy (North America and China) and its ‘near abroad’ regions (Russia and Ukraine, Turkey and the MENA region). The working group which addresses the relationship between Europe and its Southern Neighborhood, the MENA region, is based at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and will be chaired by Cilja Harders (Free University Berlin) and Claus Offe (Hertie School).

The Dahrendorf Working Group EUROPE AND THE MENA REGION invites junior and senior scholar to provide critical analyses, explanations, policy options and prognostic assessments of these transformations and related challenges; it also invites practitioners and policy experts to develop and evaluate remedial strategies concerning, but not limited to, some of the following aspects:

- Current European and Arab approaches to intra- and inter-state conflicts and security issues;
- Migration related topics including but not limited to (anti-) migration policies, political economy of migration and the rise of Islamophobia and racism;
- The modes and forms of the Euro-Med cooperation and the role of private-sector, non-state, and municipal/local-government actors in the context of Euro-Med relations
- Critical assessments of Europe’s classical “democracy-versus-stability” dilemma in light of the Arab uprisings;
- Cooperation amongst increasingly transnational grassroots activists and social movements as a counterforce to regime violence and instability;
- Rival strategies of European and non-European external actors (US, GCC member states, others) in the MENA region;
- Human capital assistance, training missions, circular migration as European policy options.

Participation in the Dahrendorf Working Group EUROPE AND THE MENA REGION as a Visiting Fellow may take place between July 2015 and the end of 2016 and includes:

1.  Attendance and organisation of one of four Dahrendorf Workshops in Berlin or other capitals in the regions (workshops, seminars and lectures) and/or the Dahrendorf Symposium in Berlin in May 2016
2.  Writing and presentation of an original research or policy paper at this event
3.  Author or co-authoring either a research paper (about 15 pages), blog contribution (about 1 page) or policy paper (about 2 pages)
4.  Liaising with other working group members on a regular basis via email or skype. 

Travel costs to the workshops and other related expenses will be covered up to 3500 Euros. To apply for a “Visiting Fellowship” in the Dahrendorf Working Group EUROPE AND THE MENA region please send your CV, list of publications and a preliminary abstract of the proposed paper by April 30, 2015 to Nikolas Scherer: scherer@hertie-school.org 

Call for Visiting Fellowship Applications