Distinguished Scholar Award

Distinguished Scholar Award is sponsored by The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG). This award is for scholars beyond the Ph. D.

or equivalent degree, funding research projects focused on the causes and/or control of violence. This aligns strongly with the research mission of the National Institute of Justice.

Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation - HFG Learn about and apply for HFG grants and fellowships. Explore topics through research, analysis and dialogue. Violence, Politics & Democracy Violence, Politics & Democracy Speaker Series Knowledge Against Violence Speaker Series Crime in America Symposium Read the latest research reports from HFG and its grantees.

HFG Research and Policy in Brief In Practice: Lessons from Research Forecasting Crime in America Violence, Politics & Democracy Initiative Knowledge against violence The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation examines enduring and urgent problems of violence, such as war, crime, and human aggression. Through basic and applied research, we aim to understand the causes, manifestation, and control of violence.

Unsolved Shootings: Why and How to Boost Clearance Rates “What is at stake is public safety and the basic duty of the police to serve the public,” writes Philip J. Cook in this HFG Research and Policy in Brief , which examines police clearance rates for shootings and suggests ways to increase those rates.

Reluctance to Back Down Is No Reason to Fight HFG Welcomes its 2026 Distinguished Scholars HFG Knowledge Against Violence Speaker Series Fueling the Fires: How Corruption and Conflict Keep Each Other Burning On February 18, researchers Diana Chigas and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church of Besa Global discussed the findings of their recent HFG report on the complex relationship between conflict and corruption.

Violence, Politics & Democracy Project Digital Aftershocks: Online Mobilization and Violence in the United States Unsolved Shootings: Why and How to Boost Clearance Rates “What is at stake is public safety and the basic duty of the police to serve the public,” writes Philip J. Cook in this HFG Research and Policy in Brief , which examines police clearance rates for shootings and suggests ways to increase those rates.

Fueling the Fires: How Corruption and Conflict Keep Each Other Burning In this Research and Policy in Brief , authors Diana Chigas and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church show how corruption can compound hostilities and stymie progress toward a durable peace in postconflict states.

Nuclear Complacency: A Report from Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Amid growing nuclear capabilities and weakening restraints, a community of researchers, academics, practitioners, journalists, and religious leaders convened to evaluate the current international, strategic nuclear environment.

Violence, Politics & Democracy Project Digital Aftershocks: Online Mobilization and Violence in the United States Against a backdrop of escalating political violence and deepening polarization in the United States, a new report from the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights examines how extremist actors across the ideological spectrum are exploiting digital platforms to foment, amplify, and glorify violence.

Violence, Politics & Democracy Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems This report from Salzburg Global's Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems program aims to identify ways to mitigate the threat of political violence and address the dangers that polarization and political violence pose to democratic systems.

International Sanctions against Violent Actors In International Sanctions against Violent Actors, Dursun Peksen observes that international sanctions rarely operate on the ground as their proponents intend. They succeed in only about 30 percent of cases and often prompt harsh treatment of a targeted state’s citizens. Is Bail Reform Causing an Increase in Crime?

In Is Bail Reform Causing an Increase in Crime? , criminologists Don Stemen and David Olson examine crime rates in eleven states and cities that adopted bail reforms, finding “no clear or obvious pattern” connecting bail reform to changes in violent crime rates.

Violence, Politics & Democracy Government Legitimacy, Social Solidarity, and American Homicide in Historical Perspective In Government Legitimacy, Social Solidarity, and American Homicide in Historical Perspective , Randolph Roth, professor of history and sociology at The Ohio State University, argues that shifts in citizens’ beliefs about the legitimacy of their government and the character of political leadership, feelings of affinity for — or alienation from — fellow citizens, and acceptance or resentment of their place in the social order affect the frequency with which Americans kill each other.

Violence, Politics & Democracy "We Want You To Be A Proud Boy" The Impact of Climate Change on Conflict This HFG report, authored by Dr. Vally Koubi, analyzes the existing research on the relationship between climate and conflict. It includes key takeaways, policy recommendations, and areas for future study.

Research and Policy in Brief The White Power Movement at War on Democracy In The White Power Movement at War on Democracy, University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew traces the origins of the white power movement and connects its most violent manifestations—from the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995 to the 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol—as part of a global, distributed effort to assert and maintain white dominance.

At the Crossroads: Behind the Rise in Gun Violence in New York and Other American Cities HFG's 'At the Crossroads' series concludes with the publication of “Behind the Rise in Gun Violence in New York and Other American Cities,” a compilation of the twelve interviews conducted by Harry Frank Guggenheim Distinguished Fellow of Practice Greg Berman with an essay illuminating common themes and practical approaches to ending such violence.

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