CoSS PhD Scholarship: Forced Migration and the Politics of Bordering in the Middle East! Apply Now!

The project falls within the auspices of the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, as well as a five-year project on “The International Politics of Mobility Sanctions,” funded by the European Research Council (led by Professor Gerasimos Tsourapas). The project offers an interdisciplinary approach bridging international relations and migration studies, while repositioning the Global South as central to theory development on the politics of cross-border mobility. The PhD candidate will become part of a broader community of students and scholars dedicated to the study of migration across the University of Glasgow.

Project details

How do states’ borders and bordering practices affect the politics of forcibly-displaced communities in the Middle East? The border constitutes a political project of both governance as well as belonging, with the aim of constructing and delineating ‘imagined communities’ on either side. Even when unable to control migration, states continue to use borders as a way of identifying, categorising, and generating hierarchies of people. At the same time, border controls and externalisation processes have become an integral part of states’ migration diplomacy and refugee rent-seeking strategies. This creates a number of research questions with regard to migration into, out of, and across the Middle East that this PhD project may focus on: how have states in the region shifted their bordering practices over time, and what effects has this produced on refugees and asylum seekers? How are borders understood and contested by those who aim to cross them? What are the effects of refugee rent-seeking practices on refugee communities, particularly those who have crossed into ‘safety’? How is migration diplomacy implicated in the politics of shifting borders across the region? While based in international relations and political science, this project aims to also speak to ongoing debates across other disciplines, critical border studies, Middle East studies, security studies, as well as migration and refugee studies.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

Applicants will have a good Masters degree (or overseas equivalent) in a relevant subject (international relations, political science, Middle East studies, migration and refugee studies, etc)
Applicants will have a demonstratable interest in the topic under investigation.
Applicants should ideally have fluency in Arabic or another Middle Eastern language.
Applicants can study part-time or full-time (although International applicants may have visa restrictions that preclude undertaking a PhD on a part-time basis)

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Politics, PhD.

Award details

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2024. The funding includes:

An annual stipend at the UKRI rate
Fees at the standard home rate or International rate
Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

Application process

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal – Applicant Guide for more information), uploading the following documentation:

CoSS PhD Scholarship – Forced Migration application form (in Word format)
Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*.
Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable).
Two samples of written work (ideally one being a Masters dissertation)

*Please note that when you enter your referees contact details on the Scholarships Application Portal and send the reference request, your referees are expected to provide their references by the closing date of the Scholarship (below). It is strongly recommended you complete this as soon as possible, as late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Closing Date: 19 April 2024

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Social and Political Sciences. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme after they are selected for funding.

For more details, refer here