The grant supports excellent disciplinary, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in the social sciences and humanities.

The project

The title of their project is The Hidden Reach of War: Understanding Conflict Spillovers, Social Trust, and Paths to Reconciliation. Violent conflicts abroad increasingly shape social tensions at home. This project studies how wars such as those in Ukraine and Gaza affect trust, cooperation and polarization in countries that are not directly involved. Using experiments, surveys and social media analysis, the researchers examine how people form beliefs about institutions and other groups when they are exposed to distant conflict. The project also tests practical interventions to reduce polarization and strengthen social cohesion. In this way it provides evidence-based insights for policymakers, universities and civil society organisations.

Both ASE researchers are also members of the UvA’s Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision-making (CREED).

About the grant

The SSH Open Competition offers researchers the opportunity to conduct research into a topic of their own choosing, without any thematic restrictions. This research programme is intended for a broad group of researchers at various stages of their academic careers. The SSH Open Competition L is for researchers who obtained their PhD 15 years or more ago and is open every other year. View the full list of awarded projects on the website of NWO.