About the program
The Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium) is seeking to fill a full-time (100%) vacancy in the research group Antwerp Centre for Institutions and Multilevel Politics in the Department of Political Science for a PhD project on EU post-crisis legitimacy and societal interests (PhD network PLATO – ESR12)
The successful applicant will conduct PhD research in the framework of the European Innovative Training Network (ITN) PLATO, an EU-funded PhD network coordinated by Prof. Chris Lord at ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo. It unites nine university partners across Europe in recruiting a group of 15 excellent young researchers to do a common multi-disciplinary investigation of the EU’s post-crisis legitimacy, together with leading senior researchers.
PLATO will be a fully integrated, thematic research school with its own research question. The aim is to go beyond the state-of-the-art by building a theory of legitimacy crisis in the EU from a uniquely interdisciplinary understanding of how democracy, power, law, economies and societies all fit together with institutions within and beyond the state to affect the legitimacy of contemporary political order. What you need to know about PLATO's research in preparing applications for a PhD position (pdf). PLATO will offer state-of-the-art academic training as well as training in core professional skills, research leadership and entrepreneurship, and dissemination; a quality framework of supervision; work experience from the policy-advice, consulting or civil society sectors at European level; and professional individual career development.
The ESR15 will conduct research on Legitimacy Crisis and Societal Interests, i.e. on societal interests’ acceptance of EU regulatory agencies decisions, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jan Beyers and Prof. Dr. Peter Bursens at the Antwerp research group ACIM.
The EU responded to the financial crisis by adopting new regulations, the creation of new agencies to regulate financial markets and the establishment of a Banking Union. These institutional changes provide an unusual opportunity to test whether the European political system can manage a severe crisis in a legitimate way. For this purpose, the project will identify new regulations in the area of economic governance introduced in response to the financial crisis. It will then identify the venues and agencies competent for enforcing these regulations. More specifically, we aim to analyse and evaluate the legal arrangements and procedures that require those agencies to consult societal interests as well as the de facto practice of stakeholder involvement and consultations. The project will use a detailed mapping of various consultation rounds, elite surveys and expert interviews to test and explain variation in how far societal interests are effectively heard by newly established agencies and the preparedness of those societal interests to accept the enforcement of new powers and regulations introduced in response to the crisis as legitimate.
Job description
- You prepare a doctoral thesis in the field of Political Science under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jan Beyers and Prof. Dr. Peter Bursens. Co-supervision will be offered by a senior scholar at another PLATO partner university, to be selected by the network based on the submitted proposal. A three-month academic secondment will be undertaken at this university to cooperate with co-supervisor and other PLATO ESRs. The PhD grant will also include a 4-week secondment to the training partner Kellen consultancy in Brussels.
- You publish scientific articles related to the research project and contribute to the research activities within ACIM and the PLATO network.
Profile and requirements
- You hold a master degree in political science, public policy, or a related social science discipline.
- You can submit outstanding academic results.
- Students in the final year of their degree can also apply.
- Your academic qualities comply with the requirements stipulated in the university’s policy.
- You are quality-oriented, conscientious, creative and cooperative.
- You conform to the following Mobility Rule to be eligible for recruitment in this European Training Network: You have not resided in Belgium for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment date and have not carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium.
- You conform to the following Career Stage rule: you are an ‘early stage researcher’, i.e. in the first 4 years (full-time equivalent) of your research career and you do not have a doctoral degree yet. This 4-year period is measured from the date of obtaining the degree which would formally entitle you to embark on a doctorate.
We offer
- a doctoral scholarship for 3 years, conditional on positive evaluation after the 1st year;
- the start date of the scholarship: 1 Sept 2017;
- a gross monthly grant ranging from € 2.280,27 - € 2.419,84;
- a dynamic and stimulating work environment.
How to apply?
- Applications may only be submitted online, and should include a copy of your CV, a cover letter with your motivation to apply, a project proposal of 2000 to max. 3000 words (incl. references and timeline), two letters of recommendation, and proof of your English proficiency (TOEFL test or equivalent, English-language MA or equivalent) until the closing date 15 March 2017. For more details, please see PLATO project proposal guidelines
- A pre-selection will be made from amongst the submitted applications.
- The remainder of the selection procedure will be conducted by Antwerp Faculty members in close consultation with scholars from the other PLATO partner institutions.
- The interviews of the candidates, preselected by a selection panel, will take place in the period of 6 – 17 March 2017.
- In assessing the candidates, particular emphasis will be placed on the quality and originality of the project proposal as well as the individual project’s fit within the overall research programme. Academic qualifications, writing skills, language proficiency and other qualifying experience will also be of key importance.
- More information about the application form can be obtained by vacatures@uantwerpen.be
- For questions about the profile and the description of duties, please contact the Antwerp PLATO promotor/coordinator Prof. Dr. Dirk De Bièvre, dirk.debievre@uantwerpen.be, or the PhD supervisors Prof. Dr. Jan Beyers, jan.beyers@uantwerpen.be, and Prof. Dr. Peter Bursens, peter.bursens@uantwerpen.be.
For more information click "Further official information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://www.uantwerpen.be/nl/jobs/vacatures/ap/2016bapfwetef311/#