Doctoral fellow

Job description

The research group GASPAR (www.gaspar.ugent.be) is seeking a motivated and enthusiastic researcher to pursue a PhD based on a 4-year research project related to the topics of democratic commitment and political support. We encourage the PhD candidate to develop their own project within this broad topic. Below is a brief summary of the relevant topics:

A long tradition of literature emphasizes that the stability of democracies rests upon its citizens. According to scholars like Easton (1975) and Norris (2011), citizens’ support for the political system and their commitment to democracy is vital for its functioning and endurance. Though citizens overwhelmingly support democracy as the most desirable form of governance (Wike et al. 2017; Wuttke et al. 2022), they are often willing to condone undemocratic acts as long as they stand to gain from them politically (Krishnarajan 2023). Citizens are, for instance, inclined to vote for undemocratic candidates that align with their partisan preferences (Graham & Svolik 2020), and they are willing to accept flawed democratic processes as long as they are on the winning side (Werner et al. 2023). Another crucial part of citizens’ democratic commitments is losers’ consent (i.e. the consent of those who did not achieve their desired outcome in a political process), which seems to be increasingly under pressure following events in, for instance, the US and Brazil.

Combining these insights, scholars have raised concerns about the extent to which citizens can uphold democracy. Are citizens’ commitments to democratic principles strong enough to maintain the stability of democracy and defend it against, for instance, would-be authoritarians? And are citizens still willing to gracefully accept political losses?

We invite candidates for this PhD position to explore these questions or related topics (e.g., losers’ consent, citizens’ perceptions of legitimacy, political trust).

Job profile

• You hold a Master's degree in political science, sociology, public administration, or in any other field of social sciences with comparable
  qualifications that you obtained no more than 28 months before the deadline
• You will have reached a maximum of 10 months of academic seniority by the deadline
• You think critically, creatively and systematically
• You are strongly motivated to conduct scientific research
• You want to write a doctoral dissertation based on this project (including following a PhD Training)
• You can organise and execute this research project autonomously
• You are familiar with theories and research in the social sciences
• You are familiar with experimental research methods, or you are willing to improve your knowledge about these methods
• You are familiar with statistical analysis, or you are willing to improve your knowledge about these methods
• You obtained excellent study results
• You possess good English speaking and writing skills
• You are a team player, and you are prepared to take up some responsibilities in the GASPAR team
• You are motivated to participate in international conferences and to publish in international outlets

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which - after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
• The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by the Department of Personnel and Organization based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits (in Dutch).

How to apply

Send us your motivation letter, your CV, an overview of your study results, and a preliminary research proposal related to the topics described above (in English) of 2 pages by Thursday, 1st of August 2024. We encourage applications to pursue their own interests and ideas within the broader topic of democratic commitments in their research proposal. All these documents are preferably merged into one PDF file. This merged file should be sent to Prof. A. Kern (anna.kern@ugent.be).

For more information about the content of the job and/or the project, you can contact Anna Kern (anna.kern@ugent.be ) from 16.07.2024 onwards.

Last-year students (graduating in June) are especially encouraged to apply.

Job interviews will be held in the last two weeks of August.