UN Department of Peace Operations and DPIR launch new Peace & Security Fellowship

The UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) has joined forces with DPIR to launch a new Peace & Security Fellowship bringing UN practitioners to Oxford for a period of research. 

As global tensions rise and conflicts grow more complex, the UN is rethinking how its peace operations can keep pace. Climate pressures, rapid technological change, and shifting power dynamics are challenging traditional multilateral tools — and prompting a renewed push for smarter, more adaptive strategies. 

To address these challenges and strengthen the link between policy and real-world operations, DPO and DPIR are launching the new Fellowship. The eight-week programme, held at Oxford during Trinity Term, will bring together UN field staff, headquarters personnel, and academic experts to produce fresh, policy-relevant research on peace operations. 

A joint UN–Oxford panel will select candidates based on the quality and practical value of their proposals. Fellows will receive orientation from DPO, academic mentorship from Oxford faculty, and access to the university’s research resources. They will present initial findings at the end of the residency and submit a final paper afterward. Applicants must secure informal supervisor approval and adhere to UN rules on confidentiality. 

DPIR’s Head of Department Professor David Doyle said: 

“Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations is proud to partner with the United Nations Department of Peace Operations on this pioneering fellowship. 

By bringing policy and scholarship together, we aim to spark fresh thinking on today’s peace and security challenges. UN Fellows will step back from operational demands to engage with Oxford researchers and explore new approaches, while our students and academics gain invaluable insight from practitioners working at the front lines of global peace efforts.” 

Professor Richard Caplan, Professor of International Relations, and Director of the DPO Oxford Fellowship Scheme, said: 

“The fellowship is designed to bridge the worlds of policy and scholarship, fostering fresh thinking on the pressing challenges facing international peace and security, and advancing innovative approaches to complex global problems.

The new fellowship aims to create exactly what today’s geopolitical moment demands: a structured space for deeper reflection, sharper analysis, and more responsive peace and security strategies."