International IDEA: Intensive Fellowship for Constitution Makers
Intensive Fellowship for Constitution Makers
February 27 – March 24 2017
The Hague, the Netherlands
Call for Applications
International IDEA:
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance – International IDEA – is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its vision and objective is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes, and be the lead actor in democracy building worldwide. International IDEA acts as a catalyst for democracy building by providing knowledge resources, by facilitating dialogue to support democratic change, and by partnering in reform efforts at the country, regional and global level. International IDEA works together with policy makers, governments, UN organizations and agencies, as well as with regional organizations engaged in the field of democracy building.
International IDEA’s key impact areas are: electoral processes; political parties, participation, and representation; constitution-building processes; and democracy and development. These four areas are mainstreamed by three cross-cutting topics: gender, diversity, and conflict and security. International IDEA works worldwide. It has headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and has offices in Brussels, The Hague, New York, as well as in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
International IDEA develops, shares and enables the use of comparative knowledge in it s key areas of expertise. In addition to its network of leading academic experts, International IDEA sources comparative knowledge through the direct experiences of practitioners who have lived through democratic transitions. While International IDEA strongly believes there can be no “one-size-fits-all” approach to democratic transitions, lessons learned from the experiences of those in comparative contexts can provide valuable guidance to actors engaged in democratic transitions in their own country.
The International IDEA Constitution Building Programme:
The International IDEA constitution building programme was established in 2006 and is now widely recognized as a thought leader in the provision of comparative knowledge and technical assistance for constitution building processes. The scope of the programme includes examining constitutional design, the process through which constitutions are made, and indeed how process affects design.
Activities of the constitution building programme include comparative knowledge publications, expert workshops and seminars, in-country technical assistance, policy advocacy in the international arena, and the management of ConstitutionNet, an online information sharing platform for the global constitution building community.The constitution building programme is based in the City of The Hague, in the Netherlands.
Intensive Fellowship for Constitution Makers:
The constitution building programme regularly interacts with individuals who have led, or have been crucial members of, constitution making bodies all over the world. These individuals have experiences and knowledge which could be of high value to those leading constitutional transitions in other countries, but rarely have the time to write down the lessons learned, crucial challenges and solutions, and key considerations to successful constitution building. While International IDEA regularly invites these individuals to expert workshops and in-country technical assistance activities, first-person written accounts of constitution building remain rare.
In this regard, International IDEA is pleased to announce an intensive Fellowship for Constitution Makers to take place at the Constitution Building Programme Facility in the Netherlands over four weeks in February-March 2017.The objective of the Fellowship Programme is to bring together four individuals who have been involved in constitution building processes to discuss, debate and write on their experiences. The expected outputs for the Fellowship are case studies of each process as well as comparative papers on issues which were relevant to each participant’s experience.The Fellows will work under the direction of Professor Tom Ginsburg of the University of Chicago and with the collaboration of the International IDEA Constitution Building Programme. The four fellows, Professor Ginsburg and the International IDEA staff will form the “Fellowship Group”.
The Fellowship will be structured to include the following elements:
- Detailed and structured briefings for the Fellowship Group of the cases at hand
- Regular discussions among the Fellowship Group of issues selected for thematic papers
- Regular discussions among the Fellows and International IDEA staff regarding feedback on IDEA projects and publications
- Ongoing coaching and guidance from Fellowship Director Professor Tom Ginsburg
- An average of 20 hours per week of research and writing
- Public seminars for invited guests and partners from other Hague-based institutions, and
- Guided cultural visits to the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, Parliament of the Netherlands and local museums.
International IDEA will provide a stipend for the duration of the course, as well as coveraccommodation expenses in The Hague in a private, central residence and travel expenses (economy class) to/from The Hague.
Criteria for Selection:
1. Individuals must have had recent experience within a constitution making body. This includes constituent assembly and constitutional convention members, constitutional commissioners, members of parliament which implemented major constitutional reforms, and senior staff (Directors) of secretariats of these bodies.
2. Fluent spoken English and working-level written English is essential.
3. Demonstrated ability to speak authoritatively on the details of the constitution making process.
Applicants will be selected by the constitution building programme in conjunction with the programme’s senior technical advisors. Consideration will be given to geographic and gender balance where possible. Preference will be given to candidates from Africa, Latin America, the Arab Region, Asia, the Pacific Islands and Eastern Europe.
To Apply:
Please submit the following documents via email to i.rybarczyk@idea.int before 31 March 2016:
- Professional Resume, with detailed explanation of role in constitutional transitions
- Short cover letter (2-4 pages) explaining your motivation in applying for the Fellowship for Constitution Makers, including issues which arose in your own experience which you would like to include in your writing briefs.