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Social Science Research Council The SSRC is an independent, international, nonprofit organization. It fosters innovative research, nurtures new generations of social scientists, deepens how inquiry is practiced within and across disciplines, and mobilizes necessary knowledge on important public issues. Programs SSRC activities span more than 80 countries on 6 continents FellowshipsPrizes Apply for research opportunities across the globe Support the SSRC Contributions fund research and scholarship worldwide The Immanent Frame The Immanent Frame publishes interdisciplinary perspectives on religion, secularism, and the public sphere. The surprising history of global blasphemy law by J. Barton Scott Revisited: The good” and the bad” Muslims of China by Yuting Wang Revisited: On beyond Trump”: Evangelical politics, born again by Joanna Tice Jen Kujenga Amani Kujenga Amani facilitates the exchange of ideas about diverse aspects of peacebuilding in Africa. Dysfunctional Capitalism in Africa and the Theory of Squanderation by Kenneth Omeje An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Titilope F. Ajayi by Next Generation Social Sciences Why we joined armed groups”: Engaging former child soldiers of Boko Haram by Hakeem Onapajo MediaWell Donate Insights from the Social Sciences Search Menu Search Menu From Our Programs Leveraging the Mercury Project Research Framework Heather Lanthorn Mercury Project codirector Heather Lanthorn introduces the project’s newly updated Research Framework, a public good that supports researchers, funders, and… From the President's Desk Master Protocols for USAID Social and Behavioral Change Research Anna Harvey The Social Science Research Council recently submitted a response to an RFI from the National Institutes of Health’s Common Fund,… From the President's Desk Master Protocols: A Tool for Increasing the Reliability of Behavioral Evidence Anna Harvey Social Science Research Council President Anna Harvey shares a recent submission to an RFI from the NIH’s Common Fund, detailing… Covid-19 and the Social Sciences More CollectionsInequalities, Pandemic Technologies, and the State in Ecuador by Michael D. Hill and Consuelo Fernández-Salvador Many countries struggled with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as it overwhelmed health services and forced everyone into lockdown. In Ecuador, inadequate public funding… Viropolitics and Value(s): From Surviving to Living in San Francisco’s Shelter in Place Hotels by Naomi C. Schoenfeld People experiencing homelessness (PEH) have been some of the most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic; however, the crisis has also allowed for new opportunities to… Cynicism, Care, Kindness: Contradictory Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic by Lu Liu and Marjorie Faulstich Orellana As part of their SSRC-funded Covid-19 research, Lu Liu and Marjorie Orellana study the role care and kindness played during the pandemic. Through an ethnographic… Recent posts Crisis and Collaboration across the Indian Ocean Politics of Rest and Resilience: Indian Ocean Mangroves and Collaborative Research in the Pandemic by Chandana Anusha , Inês M. Raimundo and Serena Stein In this essay, the authors reflect on their experiences researching the impacts of port expansion in the Indian Ocean on mangroves and the communities surrounding them with the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more August 22, 2023 Democratic Anxieties in the Americas Social Movements as Bulwarks of Democracy: Indigenous Mobilization and Political Inclusion in Ecuador by Karla Mundim In her essay, Karla Mundim examines Indigenous protest movements in Ecuador, focusing on the protests against construction on the Piatua River in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Mundim argues that, despite the enshrining of the prior consultation of Indigenous communities and the "rights of nature" in the country's constitution, Indigenous communities continue to protests and make themselves visible to the state to safeguard their democratic rights. Read more April 25, 2023 Democratic Anxieties in the Americas Violence against Women in Politics in Brazil: An Instrument of Power and Anti-Egalitarian Obstruction by Tássia Rabelo de Pinho Here, Tássia Rabelo de Pinho examines how violence against women in politics manifest in Brazil to the detriment of advancing women's engagement in politics at the national and local levels. Read more February 28, 2023 Democratic Anxieties in the Americas District Selection and Racial Identity: Voting Preferences in the Colombian Congress’ Black District by Cristina Echeverri-Pineda and Mateo Villamizar-Chaparro Despite the creation of ethnic congressional district meant to increase minority representation, participation in Colombia’s Afro-descendant district has been historically low. Here, Cristina Echeverri-Pineda and Mateo Villamizar-Chaparro examine why Afro-Colombian participation in this district has stagnated and what it could mean for democracy in Colombia. Read more January 31, 2023 From Our Programs Improving Evidence and Relevance at the Same Time by Neil A. Lewis Jr. Researcher Neil Lewis Jr. discusses how the SSRC’s Mercury Project's teams approach to research can improve the evidence generation process. Read more November 7, 2022 Democratic Anxieties in the Americas Nós por Nós: How Community Organizations are Reinventing Democracy in Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas by Anjuli Fahlberg , Cristiane Martins , Joiceane Eugenia Lopes , Ana Claudia Araujo , Lidiane Santos , Sophia Costa and Guilherme Baratho In their research, Anjuli Fahlberg, Cristiane Martins, Joiceane Lopes, Ana Cláudia Araújo, Lidiane Santos, Sophia Costa, and Guilherme Baratho examine how democracy is being recreated in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, particularly Cidade de Deus, where Covid-19 was first recorded. Drawing on their research on the pandemic’s impact on local residents vis-à-vis emergent forms of autonomous governance and how these are shaped by gender and racial dynamics, they argue that civic associations’ mobilization tactics in Cidade de Deus can help us understand how democracy is being reinvented in these spaces under conditions of extreme governmental neglect. Read more October 11, 2022 Democratic Anxieties in the Americas An Assault on Democracy”: The Effects of Voter ID Laws on Immigrant-Serving Organizations by Hajar Yazdiha and Blanca A. Ramirez Following the weakening of the Voting Rights Act in the United States, many Republican-controlled states enacted restrictive voting ID laws aimed at limiting franchise access to communities of color. In their research, Hajar Yazdiha and Blanca Ramirez examine how immigrant-serving organizations in five Southern states recalibrated their resources to help immigrants vote. Focusing on Alabama, they investigate five shifts these immigrant-serving organizations have made to address the impact of voter ID laws, which, the authors argue, shows how these restrictive laws can lead to new forms of organizing and resistance. Read more October 4, 2022 Democratic Anxieties in the Americas Representing Mining Realities: Journalism of the People and Digital Expressions of Democracy on Facebook by Adela Zhang The conflict between communities in the Peruvian Andes and multinational mining companies has often been told by national media controlled by elites in the capital of Lima. However, the advent of online livestreams has allowed local communities to make their demands and reveal their circumstances to the public at large. Here, Adela Zhang examines how these popular forms of journalism present a different version of the reality” of extractive capitalism to the one shown by the mainstream press. Read more September 27, 2022 Covid-19 Fieldnotes from Our Grantees A Relational Response to the Covid-19 Crisis: Perspectives from Two Case Studies in South Africa by Marlie Holtzhausen and Cori Wielenga As part of their SSRC-funded Covid-19 research, Marlie Holtzhausen and Cori Wielenga examine what a...