Call for Applications: 2022-2023 Cold War Archives Research (CWAR) Institute

Call for Applications

Applications from graduate students for the 2022-2023 Cold War Archives Research (CWAR) Institute are now being accepted. The deadline to apply is 11:59 PM ET, Sunday, September 11, 2022.

The CWAR Institute uses innovative and collaborative approaches to train next generation Cold War historians in archival research methodologies. The institute has two goals: to stimulate original scholarship on the interplay between soft and hard power in the cold and hot wars between 1945 and 1991, and to demonstrate the power of cooperative scholarship through innovative archival practices.

The year-long CWAR Institute fellowship program trains M.A. and Ph.D. level students through a combination of online seminars, discussions, and in-person research experience at Cold War archives and culminates in conferences and publications. Competitively selected applicants will join the institute as CWAR Fellows to hone critical research skills in historical and archival methodologies, further their own research agendas in Cold War history, improve their communication and presentation skills, and develop a network of supportive professional contacts.

The CWAR Institute builds on the success of the Cold War Archives Research Fellowship previously organized by the European Institute at Columbia University and the Summer Institute on Conducting Archival Research (SICAR) previously organized by the Wilson Center and The George Washington University.

Click here to learn more about the CWAR Institute.

Program Schedule

The 2022-2023 CWAR Institute will consist of an opening virtual research workshop (held over two sessions) where students and conveners will introduce themselves and their research, a half-day workshop on Cold War history, twice-monthly virtual meetings and seminars focused on archives and research methodologies, a week-long in-person trip to an archive, and an in-person graduate student conference. The anticipated schedule is as follows:

Opening Research Workshops (held via Zoom):
Friday, October 28, 2022, 10:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. ET

Friday, November 18, 2022, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00p.m. ET

Workshop on Cold War History (held via Zoom):
Friday, December 9, 2022, 10:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. ET

Twice monthly Friday meetings (held via Zoom):
12:00p.m. to 1:30p.m. ET, on January 13, January 27, February 10, February 24, March 10, March 24, April 7, April 21, May 5, and May 19, 2023

Research at the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives (Budapest, Hungary):
Monday, May 29 through Friday, June 2, 2023

13th Annual Cold War History Research Center International Student Conference, Corvinus University (Budapest, Hungary):
Tuesday, June 6, and Wednesday, June 7, 2023

During the opening research workshops, both the conveners and the CWAR Fellows will give brief presentations (about 10 minutes) about themselves and their research. At the workshop on Cold War history, invited experts will discuss the current state of the field and where they see the field going in the near future.

The twice monthly meetings will include lectures and panels on archival and primary source research methodologies. Invited speakers may include archivists from the U.S. government, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations; historians working in the fields of Cold War history, diplomatic history, and international history; and experts on specialized topics such as the Freedom of Information Act, conducting oral history interviews, and digital research tools.

The CWAR Institute will conclude with an in-person research trip to the Donald and Vera Open Society Archives in Budapest and a Cold War history conference for graduate students at Corvinus University. The Wilson Center will provide travel, meals, and hotel accommodations for the CWAR Fellows for any activities held in person.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

M.A. and Ph.D. students in history, international relations, government, journalism, sociology, and public policy, as well as area and regional studies are eligible to apply.

Attendance at all sessions is mandatory. Applicants must be available to participate in all virtual and in-person components of the CWAR Institute, and must be available to travel to Budapest for in-person collaborative research and concluding conference in late May/early June 2023. Applicants are required to explicitly commit to the mandatory training sessions and field trip in their applications.

Applicants are encouraged to review the website and collections of the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives.

We anticipate awarding 12 to 15 CWAR Fellowships in 2022-2023. The conveners will review all of the applications and make selections based on the strengths of the individual proposals. Preference will be given to candidates with a serious historical dimension to their work that is grounded in Cold War studies. We will also seek to assemble a diverse group of students with complementary research interests and agendas.

The selection committee anticipates announcing the results of the call for applications by early October 2022.

Application Materials

All application materials should be submitted to coldwar@wilsoncenter.org by the deadline.  Your application should include the following:

• a completed application cover sheet;
• a curriculum vitae;
• a one to two page (12 pt. font, double spaced, 1” margins) proposal outlining how participation in the program will benefit your studies.
• a writing sample (seminar paper, published article, thesis/dissertation chapter, etc.).

In addition, one letter of recommendation should also be submitted directly by a recommender to coldwar@wilsoncenter.org.

Questions about the program may be submitted to coldwar@wilsoncenter.org prior to the application deadline.

Conveners, Partner Institutions, & Background

The CWAR Institute is convened by Dr. Victoria Phillips (London School of Economics), Dr. Christian Ostermann (Wilson Center), Dr. Charles Kraus (Wilson Center), Mr. Nick Cohen, and Dr. Csaba Békés (Corvinus University of Budapest).

The European Institute at Columbia University, the Center for Civil-Military Operations, West Point Military Academy, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, and the Cold War Group at The George Washington University serve as past and present partner organizations.

Click here to learn more about the CWAR Institute.