This fall, the Dickey Center is launching a new fellowship program that invites five postgraduate scholars to do research on campus in the field of foreign policy. The International Security and U.S. Foreign Policy Fellows program will give accepted scholars a year to focus on a research topic of interest, providing each fellow with a faculty mentor to work with as well as opportunities to present their research to professors and undergraduate students.
The program was modeled on the Olin Fellowship through the Olin Institute at Harvard University, which was recently discontinued, Acting Director of the Dickey Center Chris Wohlforth said.
"When Harvard's program shut down, we saw it as a target of opportunity to pick up the mantle and make Dartmouth the place for quality scholars to come before working in government or public policy," Wohlforth said.
Fellowship participants have the freedom to pursue in-depth research without other work demands occupying their time, current fellow Rosella Cappella said. The scholars also have access to "one of the best international relations faculty in the world," which encourages them to improve their work by making it more accessible and relevant, Cappella said.
"First, our faculty gets to work with younger scholars who are doing interesting and relevant projects, thus creating a vibrant learning community for everyone involved," Wohlforth said. "Second, these scholars will be doing guest lectures and hosting events which benefit Dartmouth undergraduates."
The fellows come from across the country and are involved in various fields of study.
Cappella recently completed her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in political science. Though she is a tenure-track professor at Boston University, she took a leave year to finish her graduate research for publication. She will be looking at the relationship between economic and military power and attempting to answer the question, "How do states finance war?"
"The Dickey Center is the perfect location to finish my research," Cappella said. "Professors here like to ask big philosophical questions relevant to political science, but also try to balance that with policy relevance."
Fellow Michael Beckley applied for the program after receiving his PhD in international relations from Columbia University. He is researching the relationship between the United States and China to empirically assess whether China will overtake the United States as the dominant world power in the next century.
"Many of the experts in my field are at Dartmouth, so I couldn't refuse this opportunity," Beckley said. "It's a two-way street, though. Professors have helped me extensively with my work, but I have also been able to read over theirs, looking at drafts of academic articles related to my field."
Matthew Trudgen, who received his PhD from Queens University in Ontario before applying for the fellowship, is interested in Canada's relationship with the United States and is writing a book on air missile defense and U.S. strategy during the Cold War.
Current fellow Austin Long will draw on his experience as an advisor to the United States military in Iraq and Afghanistan to complete a book on counterinsurgency and to continue researching his interest in counterterrorism, intelligence and nuclear proliferation. He is currently on leave from his position as an assistant professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
Harvard University alumnus Trygve Throntveit is currently working to finish a book based on his reinterpretation of former President Woodrow Wilson's plan for the United States' membership in the League of Nations. Throntviet will be presenting a separate paper at the Symposium to Highlight History of Armed Service.
Despite the many similarities among the scholars' backgrounds, the fellowship is tailored to each individual's needs and interests, Wohlforth said.
"It is a wonderful program, but its size and quality is contingent on funding and the quality of the pool," Wohlforth said. "Though it is a new program, we hope Dartmouth will be able to continue it in more areas, not just international security. It is a great opportunity for students and faculty to have post-doctorate fellows here with us."