Fully-funded PhD position (4 years) in International Relations (1.0 FTE) (V25.0202)

The PhD Project
The micro and macro dynamics of political violence.

Job description
A wealth of academic research has recently tackled new dimensions and aspects of political violence: from the role and effectiveness of sanctions during military disputes to the increasing importance of non-state actors in war, and from the effect of non-governmental organizations on peace-building efforts to the variables that explain the success of violent protests. This Ph.D. project aims to target one (or more) of these novel and timely dimensions of recent instances of political violence. The goal is to focus on both the micro and macro dynamics of conflict rigorously investigating the factors that explain the onset, development and conclusion of political violence. The student will work towards building thorough and encompassing theoretical models that present relevant empirical implications.

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work in an international environment in one of the biggest International Relations Department all over Europe and to acquire valuable research and teaching experience.

The two main supervisors of the PhD project are Matteo CM Casiraghi and Yuleng Zeng. Francesco Giumelli will be the promoter of the project.

You will be asked to:

• Write and complete a dissertation (or a paper-based thesis) within the framework of the project
• Publish and present a number of academic articles (in discussion with your supervisors)
• Participate in teaching activities at the University of Groningen. In particular, the PhD candidate is expected to conduct a total of 0.4 fte teaching spread over the second, third and fourth year of the appointment.
• Complete the PhD in the specified timeframe (4 years).

Organisation
Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has established an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative university offering high-quality teaching and research.

Its 34,000 students are encouraged to develop their own individual talents through challenging study- and career paths. The University of Groningen is an international centre of knowledge: It belongs to the best research universities in Europe and is allied with prestigious partner universities and networks worldwide.

The Faculty of Arts is a large, dynamic faculty in the heart of the city of Groningen. It has more than 5000 students and 700 staff members, who are working at the frontiers of knowledge every day. The Faculty offers a wide range of degree programmes: 15 Bachelor's programmes and over 35 Master's specialisations. Our research, which is internationally widely acclaimed, covers Archaeology, Cultural Studies, History, International Relations, Language and Literary Studies, Linguistics and Media and Journalism Studies.

• A Research Master’s or Master’s degree in any area related to the project, such as Political Science, International Relations, Data Science, Social Sciences or a related discipline
• Excellent academic writing skills in English
• Have some experience with quantitative methods and statistical software like R, STATA, Python or similar
• Be enthusiastic about writing international, prestigious academic publications
• Dutch language is not required.

The following would be assets for prospective candidates:

• Experience with big data approaches and/or experimental methods.
• Familiarity with different theories and methods to study political violence.
• Relevant peer-reviewed academic publications in Political Science journals.

In accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, the University of Groningen offers you

• A salary of € 2,901 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,707 gross per month in the final year, based on a full-time position.
• A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income.
• An 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance.
• A temporary 1.0 FTE appointment for a specified period of four years. The candidate will first be appointed for twelve months. After six months, an assessment will take place of the candidate’s results and the progress of the PhD project, in order to decide whether employment will be continued.
• The PhD candidate is expected to conduct a total of 0.4 fte teaching spread over the second, third and fourth year of their appointment.
• Excellent work-life balance.
• Willingness to move and reside in the Netherlands.

The appointment will commence on September/October 2025. We allow 3 months from selection in case of VISA applications.

Applications should be made in English and contain the following materials:

• A short cover letter (ca. 500 words), explaining your motivation for applying.
• A research proposal of max 1000 words, explaining the research you propose in relation to the wider framework of this project.
• A curriculum vitae.
• Copies of MA diploma, list of grades, and thesis (in case the candidate did not finish their thesis yet, a statement by the supervisor stating that the candidate will finish their thesis by August 2025).
• A writing sample (e.g. a published paper, a chapter from the M.A. thesis).
• Contact details of two academic referees (no letters of recommendation are needed for the application process). Requests for letters will be sent for short-listed candidates after April 30th and are expected to be provided by May 11th.
• In case your MA degree is not in English, please include a language certificate.

Please send in your application as two PDF files (one for the MA thesis, and one for all other documents). You may apply for this position until 30 April 11:59pm / before 1 May 2025 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

Interviews with selected candidates will be held on May 14th 2025, 9am-1pm

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/

Ourection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/sollicitatiecode/ and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

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