Partner 1: Ministry of Defense 

The abbreviation CAI stands for cultural historical backgrounds and information. The CAI is a knowledge institute that focuses on sociocultural expertise of (potential) mission areas, within the Dutch armed forces. Furthermore they provide advice on the protection of cultural heritage during calamities and conflicts, both national and expeditionary. The section gathers its knowledge through academic literature research, but also uses other methods and techniques, ranging from qualitative interviews to social media analysis. The CAI strives for the sociocultural dimension to play a fundamental role in the actions of the armed forces, at an administrative, strategic and operational level. Besides conducting research, the CAI is responsible for instructing military personnel on the cultural-historical and cultural-social backgrounds of all deployment areas in which the Dutch armed forces participate. They do this by developing teaching programs, including culture, communication and scenario training. And by giving presentations and advice on the optimal functioning of the staff to be deployed in a non-Western environment. Accurate background knowledge in the mission area helps Dutch soldiers, police officers and civilian personnel to carry out their duties in a complex, sensitive and risky environment.

Research topic: Foreign influences in the Sahel region

The research topic will be within the context of foreign influences in the Sahel region. The Sahel region is currently instable. This instability plays an important role for the European Union, and therefore for the Netherlands as well. The Defence department contributes to several missions in the Sahel region, among which missions instigated by the EU and NATO. Among many of the threats present in the region are the increasing terror threat of Jihadist extremists groups, the increasingly instable political climate and persisting growth in migration. It is highly possible that the contribution of the Defence department will increase in the near future. To contribute to a possible military operation the research question is: In what way and by which actors is influence being exercised in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger? The question focuses on these countries as it is assumed that several countries and organisations, with different goals and interests, exercise their influence on the so-called G5-countries. Besides Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Mauritania and Chad are also part of the G5-countries. For the purpose of this research, we focus on the three countries mentioned, because the cross-border Liptako Gourma region roughly connects these countries. The Liptako Gourma region, is currently considered as the most turbulent. The research will roughly be divided in three themes. 

• Which countries and organization are primarily involved in the process of influencing Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger? And how do they exercise their influence?
• In what ways are forms of foreign influence identifiable before and during the elections in Burkina Faso and Niger, but also during the coup in Mali?
• In what way does the media, including narratives espoused as fake news, play a role in exerting influence? Preferred candidates

Besides the general requirement of admission for the IRSP researches, it would be beneficial to be proficient in French. Because the official language in the countries of focus is French and therefore interesting sources will be in French. Although having knowledge of the language is not a requirement, just a plus.

Partner 2: EFSAS

The European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) is an EU accredited, independent, non-profit think tank and policy research institution located in Amsterdam. It focuses on the political, economic and socio-cultural themes in South Asia and it provides strategic analysis, research, statistical data, policy advice and forecasts related to developments in the fields of politics, economics, international relations, conflict management, human rights, security, diplomacy, strategic affairs and conflict resolution.

This research project is situated within the context of China investing in South Asian and Indian Ocean regional infrastructure projects through the Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI). This is highly disputed by ethnic minorities and regional state-actors. The Initiative is relevant as South Asia has several American, Australian and French military bases, and trade with the EU relies on the navigability of the Indian Ocean. Additionally, Russia is the largest arms supplier for India, Japan and South Korea have large-scale investments in the area and the borders of the region are shared with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The outcome of the research is the development of comprehensive country profiles for South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and major political shareholders in the region (China as the main player followed by the EU, the Russian Federation and the US) under the research question: What are the main political challenges for South Asian countries and stakeholders in the decades to come? The research will focus on the aspects of economic development and trade, international law, security, history, resource management, institutional integration, political violence and the role of gender and sex in international and regional politics. 

In terms of structure and methodology, the structure of the chapters and the report should aim to reflect logical connections between topics and separate country profiles should employ the same structure. Citations should be made in APA style and the reports should be written in American English. The method is a mixture of qualitative and quantitative analysis. To facilitate and aid in conducting the research, EFSAS is going to compile a set of resources, including databases, academic articles, indicators and so on that will be made accessible for IRSP. 

Partner 3: SOMO

SOMO is an independent think-tank founded in 1973 which studies effects of multinationals on the environment and society. Their research focuses on the development of strategies related to social issues and sustainable development. 

Within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries have been working on reforms of the international tax system since 2013. The OECD has obtained this mandate from the G20. In 2015, this resulted in the BEPS action plan. For several years, countries, again within the OECD, have been working on a new action plan which addresses multinationals in the digital industry. 

This so-called BEPS 2.0 project aims to reform the international tax system in order to better distribute taxation rights among the activities of multinationals. (1) A goal of the BEPS 2.0 project is to subject multinationals to a minimum profit tax.(2) The BEPS 2.0 project also aims to redistribute tax rights of countries with regard to the activities of multinationals active in the digital economy, in order to achieve a more balanced distribution of tax revenues worldwide.
To create broader support, primarily among developing nations, the OECD established the Inclusive Framework in 2016. One hundred thirty-five countries are currently involved in this framework. Among them are nations with great economic potential such as Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria.

To what extent is one of these countries able to influence the process and what are their interests? 
Do they cooperate with other "peers"? Moreover, what is the participation of NGOs in these countries and in this process, and what is the regulatory framework? How do these things manifest themselves? 

Approximately 60% of the time will be spent on desk research, and 40% of the time will be spent on interviews. The first phase of the desk research includes information collection regarding the BEPS 2.0 process through interviews. Questions to take in mind would be what the BEPS process is about, what the position and interests of developing nations are in this process and how the influence is regulated under the articles of association. Phase two of the research concentrates on the influence of developing nations through the inclusive framework on the international process. A great deal of information collection will be done through interviews.