Fung Global Fellows 2027-28, Princeton University, NJ, USA. Deadline: 16 November 2026.
Princeton University is pleased to announce the call for applications to the Fung Global Fellows Program at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS). The program will select early-career scholars from around the world to be in residence at Princeton for an academic year (10 months) and to engage in research and discussion around a common theme. The fellowships will be awarded to those employed outside the United States who have a faculty appointment or a professional research appointment, and they will be expected to return to their positions at the conclusion of the fellowship. Lastly, they must have demonstrated outstanding scholarly achievement and unusual intellectual promise. Early-career scholars will be appointed at the rank of Visiting Research Scholar.
Democratic governance faces mounting pressure around the world. The rise of populist movements, declining trust in institutions, polarization, disinformation, and democratic backsliding (including in democracies once considered as consolidated) have prompted renewed debate about whether democracy’s ascendance in the late 20th century was more fragile than assumed. At the same time, democracies have proven resilient in unexpected ways—through grassroots mobilization, institutional safeguards, judicial independence, and civic renewal—raising the question of what, precisely, allows some democratic systems to weather crisis while others erode or collapse.
During the 2027-28 academic year, the program theme will be “Democracy in Crisis?” They invite applications from scholars who study the challenges confronting democratic governance and/or the sources of democratic resilience. Projects might explore the drivers and dynamics of populism; the erosion of democratic norms and institutions; the role of media, technology, and disinformation in shaping political life; the relationship between economic inequality and democratic legitimacy; or the strategies through which citizens, civil society, and institutions have defended or renewed democratic practice. They are equally interested in work that interrogates the conceptual and normative foundations of democracy itself – what it means, who it serves, and how it has been imagined and contested across different political and cultural traditions.
Applicants may address any region of the world and can bring contemporary and/or historical perspectives to bear. They welcome scholars from across the humanities and social sciences and hope to bring together a cohort whose comparative and interdisciplinary conversations will deepen our understanding of democracy’s vulnerabilities and its capacity for renewal.
She is a journalism educator, journalist and international higher education consultant whose career has combined journalism education, international collaboration and media practice. Deborah serves on the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Board of Directors, representing its international membership.
His scholarship examines the relationships among culture, communication, identity, power, sexuality, and globalization, with particular attention to queer African experiences and critical intercultural communication.
