Postdoctoral Position in the PUSHPEACE project

Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 40 000 students and more than 8 000 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition. 

The Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University is one of the leading education and research institutions in Sweden and operates both in Lund and Helsingborg. 

The Department of Political Science fuses traditional roots with cutting-edge research and education. In recent years, it has very successfully competed for external research funds. Among the central research areas of the Department are democratization, diplomacy, peace and conflict studies, environmental politics and welfare studies. The strong research profile of the Department is reflected in the teaching, the educational environment also being firmly set in a global context. 

This postdoctoral position is part of “Pushing the Boundaries of Peace Research – Reconceptualizing and Measuring Agonistic Peace” (PUSHPEACE), a five-year research programme funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (The Swedish Tercenniary Foundation), with Associate Professor Lisa Strömbom as Principal Investigator. 

Job description
The postdoctoral researcher is expected to conduct 80% research and 20% teaching for a duration of two years. The purpose of PUSHPEACE is to contribute novel empirical and conceptual knowledge to the field of peace and conflict research. It merges institutional and identity aspects of conflicts into a single analytical framework aimed at increasing our understanding of circumstances during peace processes which can contribute to foster agonistic peace. The project has a multi-level comparative approach, studying fluctuations from antagonistic to agonistic relations on grassroots-, mid- and elite levels in Colombia, Israel-Palestine and Northern Ireland.
The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to the PUSHPEACE project empirically by collecting data from the three above-mentioned cases, analyzing them quantitatively, preferably conducting both surveys and social media analyses. Importantly, it is therefore required that the candidate has comprehensive experience with surveys methods and preferably also Data Science. It is furthermore considered a merit if the applicant is familiar with survey experiments and/or NLP (natural language processing). The candidate is expected to have a solid track record within social sciences, preferably the fields of international relations or peace and conflict studies. The postdoc will carry out research independently and in cooperation with the other researchers in the PUSHPEACE project and is expected to contribute to the wider comparative aims of the study.

Qualifications
Eligibility for employment as a postdoctoral researcher is restricted to applicants with a PhD degree in a relevant subject. Priority is given to applicants who have completed their PhD less than three years prior to the deadline for applying to the post. The three-year limit can be extended in cases of parental leave, sickness leave or similar circumstances occurring after the PhD defense.

Applicants who have yet to complete their PhDs are welcome to apply but should demonstrate that they will receive their PhD degree no later than on the first day of employment as postdoc. Research skills and academic promise will be the main selection criteria, but teaching skills will also be considered. Proficiency in spoken and written English and the ability to teach in English is a requirement. The candidate must have demonstrated excellent skills in academic written English. The ability to conduct research independently and the ability to participate in research collaboration with comparative elements are very important considerations. For further information on the research project, see https://www.svet.lu.se/sites/svet.lu.se/files/pushpeace-lisa-projekbeskrivning.pdf 

The application should contain (a) a cover letter including a statement describing how the candidate is qualified to conduct the research specified above, (b) a CV, (c) one or two article-length writing samples (approximately 8000-10 000 words), at least one of which should be single-authored, (d) two letters of recommendation.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset. We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.