Kokkalis Program seeks fellowship applications, workshop papers

The Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) strives to provide individuals committed to invigorating the public sector in those regions of the world with educational opportunities to explore effectual and pioneering means of governance. For this reason, the program awards fellowships to enable individuals from Southeastern and East-Central Europe to pursue one of the following master’s degrees at KSG: master’s in public policy (M.P.P.); master’s in public administration (M.P.A.); master’s in public administration/mid-career (M.P.A./M.C.); and master’s in public administration in international development (M.P.A./I.D.).

Eligible to apply for the Kokkalis Fellowship Program are natives of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.

Candidates should hold an undergraduate degree recognized by their native state and have an academic and/or professional background in one of the following fields: social sciences, public policy and/or administration, the nonprofit sector, law, economics, or business, or have work experience in related fields. All applicants should demonstrate a strong commitment to public service and the region of Southeastern Europe.

The application deadline is Jan. 5, 2007. For more information and how to apply, visit http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/kokkalis/fellowships.html.

The Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe was established in 1997 with the aim of building bridges and networks for peace across Southeastern and East-Central Europe and between the region and the rest of the world. It is an integrated network of educational, research, and outreach activities that prepare individuals for leadership roles in public service and bring together practitioners, scholars, and students to encourage enterprising solutions to contemporary policy challenges facing the region.

Additionally, the program – together with the Southeastern Europe Study Group at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies – will hold its ninth annual graduate student workshop on Feb. 2, 2007. Doctoral students are invited to submit proposals for papers to be delivered at the workshop. Proposals should be a maximum of 500 words and should fall into one of the following thematic units:

Secularism, fundamentalism, and pluralism in Southeastern Europe: These papers should explore trends in secularism, fundamentalism, and/or pluralism at the substate, interstate, and/or transnational level(s) in Southeastern Europe. Papers can explore topics such as the constitutional and legal relationship between religion and the state; the organization, regulation, and transformation of religion in public life; the links between religion and nationalism; democratic institution-building and religious human rights; and related subjects.

Nontraditional security threats in Southeastern Europe: Countries have faced security threats stemming from military action, politics, and diplomacy. Increasingly, however, conflict and instability in Southeastern Europe and throughout the world are being generated by nontraditional security threats such as terrorism, drug trafficking, health crises, environmental security, illegal immigration, economic and financial instability, failures in governance, and information security. Papers should examine these and/or other nontraditional security issues in the region. Preference will be given to papers providing recommendations to improve policymaking to combat these new threats at the local, national, and regional levels.

Innovative governance and entrepreneurship in Southeastern Europe: Papers should explore experiments in new forms of governance, partnerships, and entrepreneurship in the public/private sector in Southeastern Europe and analyze the circumstances under which they emerged. Papers could, for example, focus on new entities, innovative projects, cross-sector partnerships and the circumstances (institutional, managerial, leadership, political, etc.) in which they emerged as well as the challenges, dilemmas, and solutions facing the realization of such initiatives. Papers may stem from the domains of public policy, administration and/or management; entrepreneurship in the public, private, or nongovernmental sectors; or others.

Countries of focus include Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey.

A number of grants for travel and accommodation are available. Proposals and CVs may be submitted online at http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/scholarship_form/GSW/index.html, or via e-mail to Kokkalis_Program@ksg.harvard.edu. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 27.

For more information on the workshop, visit http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/kokkalis.