ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP

The MIT Center for International Studies announced a volunteer research fellowship opportunity open to all MIT students to explore democracy in the Arab world’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

The fellowship is named in honor of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian dissident, democracy advocate, and journalist who was assassinated at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.

Nine Khashoggi Fellows were selected to work with social scientists to develop and implement a survey to evaluate industrial countries and their impact on democracy within the MENA region.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

The initial stages of research will involved nine primary countries: United States, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom. These are the countries which will be given a numerical score for their contribution to human rights and democracy in the MENA region. These countries represent all of the countries in the G7 and the UN Security Council. They mark the global leaders, with the most sophisticated diplomatic networks, and the largest exports of arms.

On the recipient side, the research will focus on the nations which abuse human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. The survey will focus on each of the primary country’s relationship with the following fourteen Arab nations: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

The findings were included in a published report with proper accreditation to the Khashoggi Fellows. 

The project began in the spring of 2021 and culminated in the fall of 2021.

The Jamal Khashoggi Fellowship at MIT is offered in partnership with Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).