Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship and a visiting scholar position on contemporary Taiwan to begin in Autumn Quarter 2024. These new positions are part of APARC’s expansion of its work on Taiwan, focusing particularly on its economy, society, and culture in a new era of global relations and “postindustrial” development.

About the Postdoctoral Fellowship on Contemporary Taiwan

The postdoctoral fellow participates in APARC’s research and engagement activities while undertaking original research on contemporary Taiwan. We welcome fellowship applications from candidates studying issues related to how Taiwan can meet the challenges and opportunities of economic, social, technological, environmental, and institutional adaptation in the coming decades, using a variety of disciplines including the social sciences, public policy, and business.

The postdoctoral fellowship appointment begins in Autumn Quarter 2024 and is for one academic year, with a possibility of extension contingent on satisfactory performance and funding.

The fellowship is limited to recent PhDs: applicants cannot be more than three years past the awarding of their doctoral degree when the fellowship starts. They must have degree conferral and official approval/certification no later than June 30 prior to the fellowship start date (that is, no later than June 30, 2024, for 2024-25 fellowships starting in autumn 2024).

Postdoctoral fellows are required to be in residence for the duration of the appointment and to take part in APARC activities throughout the academic year. Fellows are also expected to support programmatic needs such as colloquiums and participate in research collaboration through the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL). The postdoctoral fellowship is a 10-month appointment with a salary of approximately $65,000 (annual rate of $78,000), or commensurate with Stanford policy and set minimums, plus up to $3,000 for research expenses.

The application deadline is January 1, 2024. Read on for the application guidelines.

Apply for the Postdoctoral Fellowship on Contemporary Taiwan

Interested candidates must follow these requirements:

I. Fill out the online application form;

II. Upload the following materials to the online form (in English, PDF format):

• Curriculum vitae;
• A short research statement (not to exceed five typed pages, double-spaced) that describes the research and writing to be undertaken during the fellowship period, as well as the proposed publishable product.

III. Submit the completed application form along with the required materials;

IV. Submit Letters of Recommendation: 
Email THREE (3) letters of recommendation (in PDF format) to taiwanprogramfellowship@stanford.edu. We will accept official letters of recommendation from the applicant, a dossier service, or directly from references.

All applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, January 1, 2024.

Once we have received all components of your application, including three recommendations, we will send you an email confirming the completion of your application. If you have not received this email, you may send an email checking your application status. 

Note: Please be advised that Stanford University will close for winter break from December 21, 2023, through January 3, 2024, and response time to inquiries during this period may be delayed.

About the Visiting Scholarship on Contemporary Taiwan

The visiting scholar on contemporary Taiwan will work collaboratively with APARC faculty and researchers, Stanford faculty, and students to conduct research related to how Taiwan can meet the challenges and opportunities of economic, social, technological, environmental, and institutional adaptation in the coming decades, using a variety of disciplines including the social sciences, public policy, and business.

The visiting scholar position is available to researchers and professionals with PhD degrees or substantial records of professional achievement related to contemporary Taiwan. Applicants must be visiting from and affiliated with an outside institution or organization and must be proficient in the English language. There is a preference for mid-career professionals with a strong research and publication record. Visiting fellows are selected on the basis of prior professional achievements and the quality of research and publication proposals.

The appointment begins in Autumn Quarter 2024 and is for one academic year. The visiting scholar will be offered $30,000 as a supplementary stipend.

Visiting scholars are required to be in residence for the duration of the appointment, take part in APARC activities throughout the academic year, and meet with collaborators and stakeholders as needed. They are also expected to support programmatic needs such as colloquiums and participate in research collaboration through the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL). Additional privileges include access to Stanford research facilities, the opportunity to audit relevant University lecture courses without a fee (subject to permission of the instructor), and the opportunity to participate in events at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and elsewhere on campus.

The center is still accepting applications for the 2024-2025 visiting fellowship. Read on for the application guidelines.

Apply for the Visiting Scholar Position on Contemporary Taiwan

I. Fill out the online application form;

II. Upload the following materials to the online form (in English, PDF format):

• A formal letter of request containing a detailed proposal of the work to be carried out while in residency at APARC;
• A formal and complete academic curriculum vitae, including a list of publications.

III. Submit the completed application form along with the required materials;

IV. Submit two (2) letters of reference. The letters of reference should be emailed to taiwanprogramfellowship@stanford.edu. The candidate’s legal name and email address must be included on top of each required document.

Contact

For questions about the application process for the postdoctoral fellowship and visiting scholar position, please contact Kristen Lee at taiwanprogramfellowship@stanford.edu. 

About APARC

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) addresses critical issues affecting the countries of Asia, their regional and global affairs, and U.S.-Asia relations. As Stanford University’s hub for the interdisciplinary study of contemporary Asia, we produce policy-relevant research, provide education and training to students, scholars, and practitioners, and strengthen dialogue and cooperation between counterparts in the Asia-Pacific and the United States. For more information, visit aparc.stanford.edu.

Stanford University is an equal opportunity employer, and we welcome applications from diverse backgrounds that would bring additional dimensions to the university's research and teaching missions. Diversity includes, but is not limited to, culture, socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical capabilities, and life experience.

More Fellowship Opportunities at APARC

APARC offers additional Fall 2024 Asia Studies Fellowships that are now open for applications. We have opportunities for both emerging scholars and established professionals:

• Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Postdoctoral Fellowship on Contemporary Japan
• Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellowship on Contemporary Asia
• Stanford Next Asia Policy Postdoctoral and Visiting Fellowships
• Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellowship on Southeast Asia

Tech investors are increasingly turning their interest towards revolutionary emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and experts are curious about what role these powerful technologies will play in the unfolding political and economic competition between the United States and China. Vinod Khosla, the co-founder of SUN Microsystems and founder of Khosla Ventures, sees more than competition. Rather, he warns of an escalation of international competition into a full-scale "tech war."

Mr. Khosla explained his view of such an upcoming “techno-economic war” between the world’s two superpowers at a recent discussion hosted by APARC’s China Program. Laura Stone, APARC's inaugural China Policy Fellow, joined Mr. Khosla for a fireside chat.

The event took place at a critical juncture in the U.S.-China tech competition, just weeks after U.S. members of a House panel united to emphasize their concerns over the popular app TikTok. TikTok's uncertain future in the U.S. has added strain on the U.S.-China relationship.

Mr. Khosla sees bipartisan criticism of TikTok as a validation of his concern about Chinese influence in the United States. He declared, "There's zero chance TikTok won't be controlled by the Communist Party. Zero chance," and went on to ask the audience, "Do we want that in this country?" 

Mr. Khosla believes that countries’ ability to harness critical emerging technologies like AI and fusion energy will determine who will become a dominant power in the technological landscape of the 21st century. He went on to describe how technological competition has become a proxy for the ideological struggle between Western values and the Chinese political system. In his view, the United States must take measures to secure dominance in the tech field if it is to remain competitive on the world stage.

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Above all, Mr. Khosla stressed that artificial intelligence technologies will radically redefine the world's economic systems and that as much as eighty percent of all economically valuable labor might be performed by AI in as short a timeframe as the coming twenty years. If this change comes to fruition, goods, especially professional expertise, will become much cheaper and more accessible, while at the same time income disparity grows drastically. In addition, he emphasized that AI will change the fields of national security and cybersecurity. With these coming foundational challenges to our current economic system and domestic security measures, he argued, the United States must take a more proactive stance towards promoting the development of technologies domestically and protecting them from foreign espionage.

However, Mr. Khosla believes that this "war" for technological supremacy reaches beyond the U.S.-China relationship. In his view, it is a "war for political philosophy: Western values and political philosophy versus Chinese political philosophy." In his eyes, this conflict of fundamental values stands at the center of the ongoing competition for technological development. 

Forecasting Change

Mr. Khosla pointed out that economic benefits brought about by advanced technologies will be in high demand in developing countries. Developed nations that can provide advanced technological solutions, especially AI solutions, to developing nations will therefore become even more influential, carving a primary avenue of soft power and influence for whichever nation succeeds. 

China's motivation is beyond national pride, "they believe they have a superior system," said Khosla. His primary anxiety is that a long-held assumption that the West will win this war for ideological supremacy may not be true, citing the rising trend of open-source technology as one factor that may tip the scales. Open-sourcing technology, he argued, allows foreign nations to take technology and benefit from it without adjusting their value systems or making a real contribution of their own. He warned that technology is not just an enabler of economic power, but also of political influence, and should be treated as such. Khosla warned, "It’s literally the dominant political philosophy of the planet that's at stake here.”

When asked to describe his views on the differing approaches to institutional regulation taken by Beijing and Washington, Khosla emphasized that the large technological innovations of the past century have rarely come from established institutions and businesses, referencing the examples of Uber, Airbnb, Tesla, and Amazon as innovative startups that could not have come from established large corporations. 

He went on to cite the work of Philip Tetlock, describing the failure of expert opinion to forecast change. "Experts are almost never right," he continued, "and this is very important for the China question." Khosla argues that rather than focusing on how each nation regulates its large institutions, experts and analysts should turn their attention toward innovators and smaller actors making changes in a broad range of industries.

The conversation then turned to Mr. Khosla's participation in the Hill and Valley Forum, a China-critical alliance of Washington lawmakers and Silicon Valley executives. Mr. Khosla said that the importance of the forum is its bipartisan nature and how it provides a platform for collaboration to evaluate U.S. competitiveness against China.

Overall, Mr. Khosla's critical analysis focused largely on the risk posed by an imbalance in technological advances between the United States and China, especially in the context of heated economic competition between the two world powers. Khosla concluded the discussion with a sharp criticism of diplomacy that relies too heavily on mutual trust and expressed skepticism towards aims for cooperation between the United States and China.