Doha Center Visiting Fellow

Basic Function

About the Brookings Doha Center:

Established in 2007, the Brookings Doha Center (BDC) is a Project of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution and an integral part of the Brookings Institution's Foreign Policy program. The BDC is also affiliated with the Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, with which it co-organizes the annual U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Qatar. The BDC is a leading venue for policy analysis relevant to policy makers from both the U.S. and Muslim states and communities, particularly in the Middle East. The BDC undertakes research on the socio-economic and geo-political issues facing Muslim majority states and communities. Based in Doha, Qatar, much work of the BDC research focuses on the Arab world in general and the Gulf states in particular. The BDC research program features three program areas: (i) Governance Issues, (ii) Human Development; and (iii) International Affairs/Security Studies.

BDC Management:

Mr. Hady Amr, Director of the Brookings Doha Center is also a Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy which is directed by Ambassador Martin Indyk. Ambassador Indyk previously served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. Mr. Amr has two decades of experience working on Human Development—economic, social and political—with governments and NGOs across the Muslim world and has also written extensively on U.S. relations with the Muslim world, and served as a presidential appointee at the U.S. Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies.

An International Advisory Council of American and Muslim world advisors, chaired by H.E. Sheikh Hammad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, and Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution, provides the Center with guidance and advice on policy and programmatic issues.

BDC Visiting Fellow Program:

Beginning in fall 2008, each year, the BDC will host up to three Visiting Fellows from the U.S. or the Muslim world. Visiting Fellows conduct individual research and collaborative activities, interacting with the U.S. policymaking community, and presenting at two policy seminars at the BDC. The BDC’s convening power gives Visiting Fellows the opportunity to share views with policy scholars and opinion leaders, university professors, diplomats, government officials, journalists, and others among the diplomatic community, including staff at the University of Qatar and the Qatar Foundation’s Education City. Visiting Fellows can expect to share views with the Doha-based international media which frequently contacts Brookings scholars for its broadcasts.

Following a competitive selection process, a Visiting Fellow will be expected to take up residence at the BDC for a three to six month period. Visiting Fellows are drawn from mid- to senior ranks of governments, think tanks, universities, and media from across the Arab world and broader Muslim world, and from the U.S.

Each Visiting Fellow is brought to the BDC with the express purpose of completing an analysis paper of 12,000-25,000 words that falls within one of the three areas of the Center’s work: (i) Governance Issues (e.g., analysis of media laws, constitutions, religion and society), (ii) Human Development (e.g., analysis of government and non-governmental policy in the areas of education, health, environment, business and economics); and (iii) International Affairs / Security Studies (e.g., analysis of security frameworks in the Gulf, the war in Iraq, Israeli-Palestinian affairs, etc.). All scholarship recipients will have to meet Brookings’ high standards for quality. Applicants must propose a topic that fits into the BDC’s area of research that would be of great interest to both U.S. and Muslim world policy makers.

It is anticipated that the primary language of drafts will be English. Final reports will be published in both English and Arabic. Successful applicants will have an MA, PhD or broad-based governmental or professional experience and the ability to write the highest quality analysis in English.

Fellowships are based at the BDC in Doha, Qatar. Visiting Fellows will receive a living stipend; coverage of travel to and from Doha; and two additional payments, one for successful completion of a satisfactory draft analysis paper and another for a final version of the paper. Because of the location of the BDC within Doha, a valid driver’s license is needed, as all BDC staff and fellows drive themselves to and from the BDC; a stipend is also provided for local car rental.

How to Apply:

Please submit the following three items to DohaCenter@brookings.edu :

1. Resume (CV), including professional and educational experience, citizenship, and full contact information;

2. A writing sample (5-20 pages), in English, on a relevant topic;

3. A prospectus (2 pages) of the proposed research topic that:

• would be of great interest to policy makers from both the U.S. and a number of countries from the Muslim world,
• would result in specific policy recommendations
• would be based on specific analytical research

Reference Number: Brookings Doha Center Visiting Fellowship

Salary: Commensurate with experience and productivity.

To Apply: Send resume, writing sample and prospectus to dohacenter@brookings.edu. Fax +974 422 7801

Mail: Email recommended, however mail possible to: The Brookings Doha Center, PO Box 22694, Doha, Qatar.