Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are looking for 3 outstanding candidates for our joint PhD program on Climate Security and Food Systems. The selected candidates are expected to start doctoral studies in
Fall 2020. These positions emerge from a novel institutional collaboration connecting WUR, CGIAR and SIPRI. This consortium is charting a thematic connection between different areas of research and practice linking food systems to security and conflict.
The objective is to uncover and maximise synergies, focusing not only on eliciting integrated research but on complementing it with the most effective supporting role in policy development and advocacy. Specifically, we are interested in understanding the role of climate in exacerbating instability, conflict, and tension via food systems. The selected PhD candidates will work under a common and jointly developed framework, with each of them focusing on a specific geographic area. One PhD project will be on the Sahel, one on the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh and one the Mekong Delta.
Working with CGIAR and SIPRIWhile doing the PhD-project the candidates will also spend several months in Stockholm contributing to SIPRI's Climate Change and Risk Programme. Given growing awareness of the complex causes and dynamics of violent conflicts, the appreciation for nuanced analysis of climate-related security risks has grown amongst policy makers.
Governments, international organizations and local practitioners are placing greater emphasis on the value of sound evidence as the basis for policy. Time spent at SIPRI will allow candidates to experience an environment where researchers contribute to policy decisions through evidence-based policy recommendations. During the fieldwork, the candidates will be based in the project regions working closely with CGIAR staff, national partners and other institutions, during that time the candidate will be hosted by CGIAR or by national partner institutions.
Project ProposalsWe invite PhD projects that develop new research on climate, conflict, and food security within the broader field of food systems and natural resource management. As part of the application procedure you will write a one-page research idea, to be worked out after recruitment. Priority will be given to creative and innovative proposals aimed at unravelling the mechanisms linking climate (variability), conflict and food (in-)security within or across the following thematic foci:
- Ecological instability, food insecurity
- Political change, contestation and conflicts in the context of climate stressors and climate policies
- Analysis of climate security issues and pathways policy advice and policy implementation
- Interface between climate, security and complexity/networks theory and practical applications
We are looking for candidates with quantitative and/or qualitative research experience. A background or previous research experience in agriculture (broadly defined, e.g., farming, fishing, herding), food systems, environment, security studies, security policy, conflict, conflict prevention, and/or peacebuilding is desired. Candidates should be able to work in an interdisciplinary team composed of junior and senior researchers.