Winners Announced in the 'Junior Post-Doctoral Scholars in the Study of Democracy' Competition

The Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Ford Foundation is pleased to announce that the competition for Junior Post-Doctoral Scholars in the Study of Democracy in Latin America is officially closed and the winners have been selected.

The following eight individuals have been awarded grants to particpate as Junior Scholars in the Study of Democracy in Latin America. We congratulate them and look forward to working with them in the near future.

Winners of the 'Junior Post-Doctorate Scholars in the Study of Democracy Competition':

Eduardo Aleman and Ernesto Calvo (United States and Argentina)

David Altman (Uruguay)

Laura Flamand (Mexico)

Tanya Golash-Boza (United States)

Manuela Picq (Brazil)

Alejandro Poire (Mexico)

Anny Rivera-Ottenberger (Chile)

Barbara Sutton (Argentina)

We were thrilled with the level of interest in the competition and we recieved over 150 applications from 19 countries. Thank you to those who applied for your interest and dedication to democracy in Latin America.

Background. In October 2004, the Latin American Program held a conference to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the project Transitions from Authoritarian Rule. The conference included an extended workshop among some of the leading scholars of democracy to take stock of where the discussion of democracy had gone and what remained to be said and studied. As a conclusion to that exchange, it was decided to stimulate innovative work among relatively junior members of the academic profession and to focus attention on democracy in Latin America.

Subjects for study. Grants will be awarded for studies of democracy in Latin America that deal with one or more of the following subjects:
·Citizenship and rights – political, civil, social, cultural, communal
·Poverty and inequality – do democracies have special advantages or obligations in dealing with these social problems
·Reforms of the state – for whom, by whom, to what purpose
·Representation and accountability – how can they be improved
·Local government, including cities – are these sites of democratic governance or the last redoubts of patronage and populism
·The international context – what effect does it have on Latin American democracies.

The studies must be of publishable quality, as determined by the editorial committee of the project; they must be the equivalent of an article in a major scholarly journal or a chapter in a book; that is, approximately 7,500 to 10,000 words. The papers may be written in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Applicants. Applicants for these grants may be citizens of any country in the hemisphere – Canada, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. To be eligible, applicants must have received their PhD within five years from the date the competition closes. In very exceptional cases, applicants from Latin America who have not completed formal doctoral studies will be considered if they are in an equivalent stage of their academic careers.

Applications. Applications will be due no later than September 30, 2005. Application materials must include a curriculum vitae, a proposal of no more than 2,000 words, including bibliography, proof of the date of receipt of the PhD or its equivalent, and two letters of recommendation from senior colleagues who are familiar with your work. The proposal statement should indicate why your project is important and innovative, either in terms of advancing existing lines or inquiry or proposing new ones. Applications may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The letters of recommendation should be sent directly to the Wilson Center, to the attention of

The Director
Latin American Program
Woodrow Wilson Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004.

Applicants are responsible for insuring that letters of recommendation arrive on time.

The grant. Eight (8) grants will be awarded. The grant period will be nine months, November 1, 2005 to July 31, 2006. This grant does not anticipate residence in the Woodrow Wilson Center. Grantees may continue in residence at their home institutions or in any other location. The stipend will be in the amount of $10,000, one quarter paid upon awarding the grant (as soon after October 31, 2005 as possible), one half upon delivery of the draft of the paper (no later than February 15, 2006), and one quarter upon approval of the final study. The final version of the study will be due July 31, 2005. The Wilson Center will have right of first refusal to publish the studies written under this grant. In addition, grantees will be asked to attend a workshop in Santiago, Chile at the end of February 2006, at which their drafts will be discussed by their fellow grantees and a few distinguished senior scholars.

Administration. The grant competition will be administered by the Latin American Program of the Wilson Center. Questions should be directed to lap@wwic.si.edu or 202-691-4078.