Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security & Diplomacy Awarded Carnegie Corporation Grant

The University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies today announced that the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy was awarded a $1 million, two-year grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The grant is toward a “Bridging the Academic-Policy Gap” program that will generate and disseminate policy-relevant research on pressing global issues.

Academics and policy leaders alike often imagine that the only serious, effective action against global crises is violent action. With the support of the Carnegie Corporation, researchers at the Sié Center aim to demonstrate the conditions under which nonviolent strategies are effective, thereby building a more robust repertoire of strategies on which policymakers can draw to prevent, contain, and respond to violence such as that ongoing in Syria and Ukraine.

Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, dean of the Josef Korbel School, recognizes the importance of applying sound research to policy. He was a four-time U.S. Ambassador with his last post as Ambassador to Iraq in 2009.

“Our collective attention is often biased toward headline-grabbing events of violence and conflict,” said Hill. “With this groundbreaking project our faculty is seeking to correct this bias by broadening the understanding of alternatives to violence and the effects that nonviolent actors can have on worldwide security. The faculty of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies are widely recognized for their policy relevant research. I am thrilled that with the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, we will be able to reach a wider audience with our innovative work.”

The announcement of this grant comes on the same day the Josef Korbel School broke ground on the Anna and John J. Sie International Relations Complex—a new hub for the study and practice of international relations. The Carnegie-funded program alone will bring three full-time post-doctoral researchers, practitioners-in-residence, new School staff, and a host of visiting academic and policymakers to the School.