The Cold War Archival Research Institute
promoting collaborative cold war history
The Cold War Archival Research Institute
The CWAR Institute
Our Mission
The CWAR Institute uses innovative and collaborative approaches to train the next generation of Cold War historians in archival research. The institute has two goals: to stimulate original scholarship on the interplay between soft and hard power in the cold and hot wars between 1945 and 1991; and to demonstrate the power of cooperative scholarship through innovative archival practices. Since its inception in 2013, CWAR has been supported by Columbia University, The London School of Economics, and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. It is currently operated in association with The Oxford Centre for Life Writing at Wolfson College, Oxford University, as Cold War Lives. As such, CWAR is engaged with the project of telling the history of "Cold War Lives," broadly conceived. The CWAR Institute is financially supported by the Center for Collaborative History,
a not-for-profit 501c3.
The CWAR Institute has two components:
- The Graduate Fellows Program to train emerging Cold War scholars.
- The Senior Fellows program dedicated to the collaborate study of the Global Cold War, centered on scholarly initiatives (peer reviewed publishing, exhibitions, educational programs, digital humanities projects, policy briefs, and other public history engagements).
The CWAR Graduate Fellows Program
Each year, 5-12 competitively selected graduate students join the institute as CWAR Graduate Fellows to hone critical research skills in historical and archival methodologies, further their own research agendas in Cold War history, improve their communication and presentation skills, and develop a network of supportive professional contacts.
The two-semester long CWAR Graduate Fellowship program trains M.A. and Ph.D. level students through a combination of online seminars with renowned experts in the field of Cold War History and an in-person research experience at an international Cold War archive. Graduate Fellows generally present their research at conferences and through publications.
Since 2014, the CWAR Institute has concluded the semester of study with an in-person research trip to an international archive. Archives visited by the group have included the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives in Budapest, Hungary, the US National Archives at College Park, the British National Archives at Kew, the Eisenhower Presidential Library, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. CWAR Institute Fellows also have the opportunity to present at a conference at the end of the term. Travel and lodging costs associated with these archival experiences are included in the CWAR Graduate Fellowship.
A. The 2026 CWAR Graduate Fellows' cohort will have a choice to attend ONE of these archives during the week of July 19-24, 2026:
1. The Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archive in Budapest, Hungary.
2. The Bodleian Archives in Oxford,
3. The Mitrokhin Archives, Churchill Archive Centre, Cambridge, UK (requiring advanced Russian language proficiency).
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B. The 2026 CWAR Graduate Fellows' cohort will meet for collaborative sessions and a final conference at Wolfson College, Oxford, July 25-28
under the auspices of the Oxford Life Writing Centre and Cold War Lives.
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C. Graduate Fellows have an option to present at the 16th Annual International Student Conference
at the Cold War History Research Center at Corvinus University in Budapest.
The CWAR Institute began in 2014 as the Cold War Archives Research Fellowship organized by the European Institute at Columbia University and the Summer Institute on Conducting Archival Research (SICAR) at the Woodrow Wilson Center and George Washington University. It moved to the Centre for Life Writing at Wolfson College, Oxford University, in 2025. Graduates of CWAR have launched careers in academia, public policy, think-tanks, philanthropy, journalism, filmmaking, and even Wall Street fund management.
The CWAR SENIOR Fellows Program
The CWAR Senior Fellow Program combines monthly online discussions with collaborative research, culminating in conferences, publications, museum exhibits, policy white papers, and digital humanities projects.
In the current cycle, the CWAR Senior Fellow Program is focusing on the role of US non-governmental organizations in shaping the global history of US foreign aid during the Cold War. Our professional archivist and digitizing staff are currently collecting materials for the team from the CARE International Archive, located at the New York Public Library.
Selected fellows are provided with access to an archivist and scanners who will retrieve and digitize documents from selected archives in the US and the UK. Fellows meet regularly over Zoom to share their findings, which are stored in a shared Zotero database. Fellows are expected to contribute their research to publications and other forms of scholarly output.
Previous group activities have included workshop colloquiums in Budapest, Hungary and Salzburg, Austria, and publications in special issues, edited volumes, and blog posts. The institute’s long-term goal is to provide historical insights that inform contemporary challenges related to wartime and postwar aid, as well as long-term rebuilding efforts. By doing so, the project seeks to examine the dynamics of hard and soft power, the interplay between private and governmental institutions, and the complexities of postwar rebuilding and humanitarian aid.
Program Eligibility: Early-, mid-career, and senior scholars, are invited to apply for the program. A terminal degree is expected, or the equivalent in professional standing.
Interested senior fellows should send a current CV and a 3-4 page research proposal to Dr. Margaret Peacock at mepeacock@ua.edu. Successful proposals will show how fellows will use the CARE International materials at the New York Public Library (along with digital archives, archives in their local vicinity, and/or oral histories, if applicable) to explore the history of US non-profit foreign aid. Proposals should also include a plan for publication or public outreach. Applications for Senior Fellowships are accepted on a rolling basis.
People / staff
Dr. Victoria Phillips
Dr. Victoria Phillips
Dr. Victoria Phillips
Director
Victoria Phillips, Ph.D. is the author of Martha Graham’s Cold War: The Dance of American Diplomacy. A Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford University, Dr. Phillips is also the director of the History, Culture and Diplomacy project and History Online, and is a founding member of the Global Biography Working Group. At prese
Director
Victoria Phillips, Ph.D. is the author of Martha Graham’s Cold War: The Dance of American Diplomacy. A Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford University, Dr. Phillips is also the director of the History, Culture and Diplomacy project and History Online, and is a founding member of the Global Biography Working Group. At present, she is working on a biography of Dr. Eleanor Lansing Dulles.
Dr. Margaret Peacock
Dr. Victoria Phillips
Dr. Victoria Phillips
Associate Director
Margaret Peacock, Ph.D., MSIS, is a historian of Russia and the Middle East. She is the author of four books and many articles. Her most recent book, Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda War Shaped the Middle East (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2025), explores the history of international radio in the
Associate Director
Margaret Peacock, Ph.D., MSIS, is a historian of Russia and the Middle East. She is the author of four books and many articles. Her most recent book, Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda War Shaped the Middle East (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2025), explores the history of international radio in the Cold War Middle East. Dr. Peacock is a professor at the University of Alabama and the Director of the Pathways Program in UA's Office for General Education.
Max Ferrer
Dr. Victoria Phillips
Max Ferrer
Archivist/Program Coordinator
Max completed a MA in European History, Politics, and Society at Columbia University in 2021 and is completing his Ph.D. in History at King's College London. He specializes in intellectual history, social history, post-colonialism, nationalism, and contemporary Spain.