About the CPD Research Fellowship Program

In August 2009, the Center launched a new fellowship program designed to support and publicize the work of scholars and practitioners of public diplomacy. Selected from a competitive pool of international applicants by a review committee, the CPD Research Fellows will each oversee a substantive research project that will yield at least two outputs, including one publication for the CPD Perspectives on Public Diplomacy series. The second output could consist of a blog series for the CPD Blog, or another type of product which the Fellow develops with CPD. Three non-resident fellows will be named every year, each serving a two-year term. The selected candidates will each receive a $2,000 stipend awarded at the successful completion of the fellowship.  

*Please note that USC students and faculty are ineligible for the CPD Research Fellowship.

Current CPD Research Fellows

Zahid Shahab Ahmed
CPD Research Fellow, 2017-2019
Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalization, Deakin University
CPD Project: "How are Attitudes towards China formed in Pakistan? Analysis of Beijing’s Public Diplomacy in the Context of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor."

Banu Akdenizli
CPD Research Fellow, 2016-2018
Associate Professor of Communications, Northwestern University in Qatar
CPD Project: "Digital Diplomacy in the Gulf: An Analysis of Embassies, Foreign Ministries, and Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Twitter Accounts."

Lindsay J. Benstead
CPD Research Fellow, 2017-2019
Associate Professor, Political Science, Portland State University
CPD Project: "Evolving Views of U.S. Foreign Policy among Arab Citizens."

Mietek Boduszyński  
CPD Research Fellow, 2016-2018
Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations, Pomona College 
CPD Project: "U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Age of the Fortress Embassy: Balancing Mission and Security in the Post-Benghazi Era."

Alexander Buhmann 
CPD Research Fellow, 2016-2018
Assistant Professor, Norwegian School of Business 
CPD Project: "Why Do(n’t) They Measure? Drivers and Barriers in Public Diplomacy Measurement and Evaluation."

Martin Edwards
CPD Research Fellow, 2018-2020
Associate Professor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University 
CPD Project: "Twitter Diplomacy and IMF Surveillance - Social Media, Information Dissemination, and the Challenge of Policy Leverage."

Jennifer Hubbert
CPD Research Fellow, 2018-2020
Associate Professor, Anthropology and Asian studies, & chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Lewis & Clark College 
CPD Project: "Rescaling Public Diplomacy: Sister Cities and the Shifting Landscapes of International Relations." 

Diana Ingenhoff
CPD Research Fellow, 2017-2019
Professor of Organizational and Strategic Communication, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Fribourg
CPD Project: "Developing a 360-degree Integrated Public Diplomacy Evaluation Approach: Analyzing Country Images from Stakeholder and Media Perspectives."

Ian Thomas
CPD Research Fellow, 2018-2020
Head of Evaluation for the Arts, British Council
CPD Project: "Developing an Evaluation Toolbox for Cultural Relations: Evaluating the British Council’s Arts Showcasing Programs Contribution Toward Developing Cultural Relations and Delivering UK Soft Power Outcomes."

To view all current CPD Research Fellowship projects, click here.

For a list of past CPD Research Fellows, click here.