Research
Doctoral Research
The CDSP promotes doctoral research on diplomacy. Presently five doctoral candidates are doing research on various aspects of diplomacy. They are preparing their doctoral dissertations for degrees at the Faculty of Arts at the Free University in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at Antwerp University, Belgium. The doctoral candidates below are interested in exchanging ideas and research findings with others working in their area of interest. The Clingendael Institute does however provide no grants or scholarships for doctoral research.
CDSP has a wide-ranging research programme with three dimensions. First, it studies diplomacy, particularly contemporary trends and innovations in diplomatic practice. Secondly, it is dedicated to an increased understanding of global issues and responses to governance challenges raised by the erosion of national boundaries. Thirdly, CDSP research is focused on the changing geopolitics of international relations, in particular the rise of Asia, the future role of the United States and relations between the Islamic world and the West.
Current projects on innovations in diplomacy deal with nation branding and public diplomacy, foreign ministries and change, diplomatic representation, sub-state diplomacy, diplomatic theory, and consular affairs. Global governance, which deals with the challenge of managing and regulating international affairs, is another area of CDSP research. Current projects include the reform of the United Nations, the rules of international law dealing with humanitarian (and other) interventions, and the necessity to adapt the institutions and regimes dealing with preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass-destruction. CDSP research on the changing geopolitics of international relations focuses on three areas. First, the rise of Asia, in particular the transforming role of China in the setting of global relationships, Chinese innovation in diplomacy, and Japan's foreign policy and economic diplomacy. Second, this area of research looks at American foreign policy and the role of the United States as the world's leading power. Third, the Programme has expertise on Islamic radicalization and focuses on the relationship between the Islamic world and the West.