Skip to main content

POLIS Politics of Global Challenges International Scholarship Success

Date

Dante Junior Solano Silva has been awarded the first Politics of Global Challenges International Scholarship for his PhD on ‘Shaping subjectivities: the socio-psychological change in times of economic growth and competing development politics in Latin America (2001 – 2015)’. Competition for the Politics of Global Challenges International Scholarships was fierce, so this is a major achievement for Dante, our congratulations to him! Following his success, Dante has been officially recognized as researcher by the National Council of Technology, Science and Innovation of the Peruvian Government.

Dante is currently a Senior Analyst at CIUP Direction and Scholar at the Department of Political and Social Science at Universidad del Pacífico (Lima, Perú) and has experience of developing educational and intercultural policies in Perú. Dante is returning to POLIS to commence his PhD in 2021 where he gained a distinction for his MA in Global Development in 2019 (funded through the Santander Postgraduate Taught Scholarship).

PhD Abstract:

Between 2001 and 2015, Latin America experienced strong economic growth which was accompanied with a reduction of income inequalities. These macroeconomic processes occurred in a political context characterized by the competence of two development paradigms among these countries: the continuity of neoliberalism and the emergence of post-neoliberalism. Recent evidence suggests that these development and economics settings can affect different socio-psychological aspects of individuals such as their subjective well-being, social trust, and values, which in turn could also affect their political attitudes. From a quantitative approach, this research aims to examine these dynamics in five countries from South America during that period: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The results of this project can enhance the debate on the sustainability of development centered on economic growth and neoliberalism paradigm for the well-being of citizens in developing societies.

 

Dante comment that:

‘Coming back to the University of Leeds represents an extraordinary opportunity to continue growing as scholar and be involved in an international research community. Since my MA studies, I have developed a strong interest in understanding how development politics and contexts influence different aspects of subjectivity of individuals. With this PhD research project, I will extend these ideas with the guidance of my supervisors and with the support of POLIS, a world-recognized school in Development Studies. Furthermore, I would be very delighted to work with the Centre for Global Development, the Centre for Democratic Engagement and the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics. I consider that these centres would foster my research work, and I can contribute with my background in socio-psychological research on Latin America. So, I am very excited to start my PhD studies and very thankful to my supervisors for their encouragement and support in this process, and to the University of Leeds for consider this proposal for the Politics of Global Challenges Scholarship.’

Dante will be supervised by Dr Emma-Louise Anderson and Dr Markus Fraundorfer from the Centre for Global Development and Dr Kris Dunn from the Centre for Democratic Engagement.  They reported that:

Dante is proposing an original and ambitious proposal that makes a clear and important contribution to cross-disciplinary academic literature. It is innovative in interrogating the psychological aspects of economic, social and political development in South America. It is rigorous in its quantitative approach and directly connects, working from a similar theoretical and methodological background, to the work of Kris Dunn in POLIS. Dante is an exceptional candidate for PhD study and has the potential for a strong career in academia in Peru. Dante has already developed an impressive track record of academic publication in South America. He also brings with him experience working in the public sector providing him valuable insight into the connection between society and governance.’