Phd Candidates in European Union Foreign Policy

Vacaturenr.

15449

Functie-categorie

PhD-posities

Omvang (fte)

1,0

Extern/intern

Extern

Locatie

Leiden

Geplaatst op

4 februari 2025

Sluitingsdatum

1 maart 2025

**What you will do**
- Conduct research and write a PhD dissertation related to the aims of the EUFOG project.
- Actively participate in the research, publication, and communication activities of the EUFOG project, including presenting at workshops and conferences.
- Undertake relevant coursework, attend EUFOG events and training activities.
- Participate in PhD program activities and the general intellectual life of the Institute.
- Contributing to the Institute’s teaching program

**Where you will work**
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences consists of five institutes: Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Political Science, and Psychology. The faculty has approximately 7000 students and 1000 staff members. Within the institutes, not only education is provided but also groundbreaking research is conducted that pushes the boundaries of our understanding of human behaviour and societal structures. What makes our faculty unique is the diversity of research topics, the various styles of teaching, and the way professional support is organized; this provides you with the opportunity to explore and develop your interests and expertise. Visit our website for an impression: Welcome to the Leiden Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences - Leiden University.
- Institute of Political Science_
The Institute of Political Science has a strong research tradition in various areas of comparative, Dutch and international politics, as well as political theory. The Institute has around 85 academic staff, including many non-Dutch scholars, and houses a number of editorships of international refereed journals and book series. Members of the institute are also involved in a number of the university’s multi-disciplinary research centres, including the Europe Hub, Central and East European Studies, International Relations, Parties and Representation, Political Philosophy, Centrum voor Nederlandse Politiek en Bestuur and ReCNTR. The Institute is based in Leiden and in The Hague, where a large part of the teaching is done.
The Institute offers a range of programmes at the Bachelor and Master levels and also trains PhD students in political science. The BSc programmes include general Political Science (in Dutch & English, in Leiden), International Politics (in Dutch & English, in Leiden), and International Relations and Organisations (in English, in The Hague). The one-year MSc programme (taught mostly in English) includes five specialisations in Leiden and one in The Hague.

**About the project**: Contested EU Foreign Policy in an Era of Geopolitics (EUFOG) project, funded by the European Commission, aims at understanding the EU’s responses to new geopolitical challenges. EUFOG brings together 17 industry-academia partners to provide high-level and interdisciplinary research and specialised training, including research visits and secondments at associated partners, to bridge the gap between academic research and everyday policy practice. EUFOG will mobilize and combine the conceptual and methodological knowledge of a network of researchers and institutions that is interdisciplinary and open to a diversity of innovative methods in the areas of political science, European/EU studies, political economy, international relations, communication, public diplomacy, media and gender studies. The aim is to provide you with state-of-the-art methodological tools to analyse changes in EU foreign policy in a more geopolitical world. A key part of the training element of this network is the use of techniques and tools that cross the three dimensions that articulate the network -politics, policy and partners. This includes mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative), decentering approaches, and the coproduction of research across sectors, disciplines, national contexts, and stakeholders. Altogether, EUFOG embodies an integrated, collaborative, frontier-of-science research project.

The two Leiden-based PhD students will work with Dr Karolina Pomorska as the main supervisor. One of their academic co-supervisors will come from the EUFOG partner institutions.

**What you bring**
- Applicants must hold (or be near completing) a master’s degree in political science, international relations, public administration/public policy, or EU studies with excellent grades. They have written (or are near completing) a master’s thesis.
- Applicants have extensive background knowledge of EU institutions and decision-making and an interest in EU foreign policy. The completion of a bachelor or master thesis on the topic, or relevant work experience in the field is a plus.
- Prior training in and a good command of qualitative methods is desired.
- Strong critical thinking and writing skills, visible in the writing sample
- Applicants