About the positions
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is the largest educational and research institution in the social sciences in the Netherlands. The Faculty serves 7,500 students in numerous Bachelor and Master programmes in Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication Science, Psychology, Social Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, and Educational Sciences. The academic staff are employed in education as well as research. There are over 1,100 employees in the Faculty, which resides in a number of buildings in the centre of Amsterdam.
These positions are within the research project 'FOLLOW: Following the Money from Transaction to Trial,' directed by prof. Marieke de Goede. The project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) through a Consolidator Grant and is based at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam. The expected starting date is 1 May 2017 (and in any case, no later than 1 September 2017). The candidate will be supervised by a team including Dr. Beste Işleyen and Dr. Rocco Bellanova.
Project description
Increasingly, financial data are considered an important resource in the fight against terrorism. In the name of pursuing terrorism financing, banks are required to report suspicious transactions, Financial Intelligence Units create new databases and produce ‘typologies reports'. Courts of law are increasingly prosecuting terrorism financing offences. FOLLOW studies this ‘security chain’ of financial transactions analysis. The project focuses on the chain of suspicious transactions analysis in Europe, from banks, to Financial Intelligence Units, to Courts. A team of 3 PhD researchers and two postdoctoral researches the way in which financial data are interpreted and shared across the security chain, leading to security decisions like frozen assets, closed accounts or criminal convictions.
FOLLOW draws on literatures in International Relations, critical security studies, Science-and-Technology Studies and the so-called ‘practice turn.’ It develops a novel approach by understanding suspicious transactions analysis as a ‘chain of translation.’ This security chain is understood as the set of practices whereby commercial transactions are collected, stored, transferred and analysed in order to arrive at security facts. FOLLOW examines in detail how security judgements are made across public/private domains and on the basis of commercial transactions. It uses qualitative methods and fieldwork observations to study the daily practices of security professionals. It aims to contribute to theoretical innovation at the intersection between critical security studies and Science-and-Technology Studies (STS) .
Within this broader context, two PhD research positions are availabe.
Project 1. This PhD project examines the practices of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). All EU member states are obliged to set up Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). FIUs receive Suspicious Transactions Reports from banks to detect criminal activity, freeze transactions, and pass on information to police and prosecutors. At present, there is no comparative research on the work of European FIUs. The successful candidate will conduct qualitative fieldwork within the government sector and the European network of Financial Intelligence Units. S/he will examine how FIUs handle, share and analyse suspicious transactions reports submitted by financial institutions. S/he will also study and analyse the ways in which security professionals interface with software technologies, and deal with questions of privacy and data protection. The PhD project is expected to make an independent conceptual contribution to our understanding of financial security and security practices. Knowledge of relevant literatures, and experience with (ethnographic) fieldwork are an asset.
Project 2. This PhD project conducts a critical comparative analysis of terrorism financing court cases across the European Union and within selected member states. Terrorism financing laws are at the forefront of the preventive turn in criminal law, because they involve the criminalization of facilitation and terrorist intent. There is international pressure to secure terrorism financing convictions: whether a country achieves successful convictions in such cases is one of the measures used by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to evaluate its members. Terrorism financing cases are increasingly reaching the courts in Europe. This PhD project comparatively analyses terrorism financing trials in EU member states. It collects data concerning the number of terrorism financing trials; it qualitatively analyses the procedures, arguments and judgements of selected cases. It examines the broader societal effects of criminalizing facilitation and financing in European legal systems. The successful candidate will conduct fieldwork within the legal sector; s/he will interview legal professionals and observe court proceedings. A background in socio-legal studies and prior experience with fieldwork in the juridical sector will be considered assets.
Tasks
The successful candidate will be expected to have a high level of competence and motivation to undertake the following tasks:
- complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration (four years);
- undertake fieldwork and gather data relevant and available to the overall project;
- contribute (both as sole author and as co-author) to the writing up of research papers to be submitted to academic journals;
- regularly present intermediate research results at the UvA and at international workshops and conferences;
- contribute to the organisation of research activities and events of the project, such as conferences, workshops and joint publications;
- teach in the field of political sciences (in consultation);
- participate in the AISSR PhD programme, including attendance of courses.
Requirements
Ideal candidates:
- have obtained a (research) master’s degree in a field relevant to the theme of the research, in particular politics, International Relations, law, anthropology, social sciences, or European Studies;
- are persons with initiative, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work independently as well as in a team;
- have well-developed analytical skills as well as creativity and perseverance;
- possess good academic writing, presentation and organisational skills;
- can demonstrate a strong interest in the topic of this PhD project;
- are familiar with (some of the) academic literatures relevant to the project;
- have experience with qualitative research methodology, especially participant observation and interviews;
- are able to communicate effectively in English both orally and in writing;
- have a strong interest in pursuing an academic career.
Knowledge of (written and spoken) Dutch is an asset.
Appointment
The appointment will be on a temporary basis for a period of 4 years for 38 hours per week. In the first instance, a contract will be given for 12 months; if positively evaluated, the contract will be extended for another 36 months. On the basis of a full-time appointment, the gross monthly salary will be €2,191 during the first year, rising to €2,801 during an eventual fourth year, excl. 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end of year bonus. The Collective Labour Agreement for the Dutch Universities is applicable.
The successful candidate will begin their project on or around 1 May 1 2017 (and no later than 1 September 2017).
Job application
Applications must contain:
- a motivation letter;
- a full CV;
- an official transcript of the grades during your studies as well as your diploma;
- a research plan of around 2,000 words. The research plan should outline how you would approach the research topic, including the kinds of questions the project might ask, the methods it uses and the theories to which it would connect;
- two names of referees who may be contacted for a letter of reference.
Applications must be sent to sollicitaties-fmg@uva.nl before 9 March 2017.
Emailed applications should mention vacancy number in the subject line and should contain the documents as an attachment (in one single pdf-file).
Interviews for this position will be held end March / early April 2017.
Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.
For more information click "Further official information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.uva.nl/en/research/phd/phd-vacancies/item/17-034-two-phd-candidates-in-critical-security-studies-with-a-focus-on-financial-security.html?page=1&pageSize=50