Post-Doctoral Fellowship – 2026-28 Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation-Kissinger Center

Position description

Thanks to the generosity of the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation, the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, located within the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, is pleased to announce generous fellowships for visiting Postdoctoral Fellows pursuing scholarly research in historically informed statecraft and strategy. In addition to being part of SAIS, the Postdoctoral Fellows will join an exciting, international consortium, the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy (AJI). The other members of the AJI are the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, the Centre for Grand Strategy in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, and the Center for Statecraft and Political Communication at the Stockholm School of Economics.

Postdoctoral Fellows will work closely with the faculty and affiliates of the Kissinger Center and will have opportunities to participate in the Center’s activities and the broader intellectual communities of SAIS and JHU. The new scholars will also collaborate with faculty, affiliates, students, and Fellows from the other institutes in the consortium, creating a multi-institutional, multi- national intellectual community that spans the Atlantic, and will have publishing opportunities through Engelsberg Ideas.

The program will build and expand upon the Kissinger Center and SAIS’s strengths in diplomatic and military history, strategic studies, security studies, international relations, and economics and international political economy. SAIS is interdisciplinary and policy-engaged, and its location in Washington, DC, allows scholars easy access to major instruments of government, think tanks, and federally funded research and development centers, as well as important archives. SAIS also has campuses in Bologna (Italy) and Nanjing (China), providing additional opportunities to engage with the scholarly and policy communities in Europe and Asia.

Up to three Postdoctoral Fellows will be awarded a two-year fellowship that includes health insurance, research funding, and a salary competitive of $73,000 per year.

Qualifications

Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to start in the summer/fall of 2026 and continue for two calendar years, although a later start date can be negotiated for exceptional applicants. Please state your availability in your Application letter. The Postdoctoral Fellow will be expected, in addition to pursuing his or her own research and writing, to contribute to the intellectual life of the Kissinger Center as well as the AJI consortium and to participate in their programming.

Applicants for AJI Postdoctoral Fellowships must have completed their PhD by the time they take up the fellowship and have a track record of excellent historically-minded research in statecraft, diplomacy, or strategy. Preference will be given to those who are no more than 5 years beyond completing their dissertation, although others are also eligible. Postdoctoral fellows are expected to remain in residence at the Kissinger Center for the duration of their fellowship. We encourage candidates with PhDs in history, political science, and international relations to apply, but other disciplines are also welcome. Applications from women and minority candidates are especially encouraged.

Application instructions

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