The Department of Political Science is a dynamic and strong education- and research department at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Stockholm University. The Department aims to be nationally leading and internationally prominent within its field of research and education.

The Department announces one vacant position in the doctoral program with an orientation towards Comparative European Politics. The PhD position is fully funded for 4 years and positioned at the Department of Political Science. Planned entry date is November 1, 2019.

Project description
The PhD position will be part of a research project National independence and European integration: Scotland’s and Catalonia’s democratic challenges to the political order in the European Union. The project addresses a central, yet often overlooked, question in the study of European integration and democratic governance in the EU: what explains the support for national independence of non-sovereign regions in EU member states? By focusing on how visions of national independence are linked discursively and in practice to notions of European integration and democracy in a comparative case study of pro-independence political and societal actors in Catalonia and Scotland – the two most salient cases in the EU at present – the project seeks to provide an original and timely contribution to the research agenda on the challenges to and possible renewal of democratic governance in contemporary Europe. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

Qualification requirements
In order to meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have completed a second-cycle degree, completed courses equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 credits must be in the second cycle, or have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere.

In order to meet the specific entry requirements, the general syllabus for doctoral studies in Political Science at Stockholm University stipulates that the applicant must have:

• completed higher education equivalent to 150 Swedish university credits, including studies at the advanced level (master’s level) of at least 60 Swedish university credits in the political science subject, or the equivalent education
• a completed written academic, independent work with a least the grade ’pass’, equivalent to at least 15 Swedish university credits in the political science subject
• completed additional 90 Swedish university credits, or the equivalent, of higher education in subjects relevant to the graduate program, and
• proficiency in English corresponding to at least 550 credits on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Understanding Swedish is not a requirement at the time of admission. The applicant should, however, be prepared within a couple of years to carry out teaching and administrative tasks that require knowledge and usage of the Swedish language.

The qualification requirements must be met by the deadline for application.

Selection
The selection among the eligible candidates will be based on their capacity to benefit from the training. The following criteria will be used to assess this capacity: The ideal candidate should have an interest in European politics, and especially the European Union. We seek candidates with competence within the areas of EU studies, comparative politics, and international relations. We are particularly interested in candidates with a background in and familiar with qualitative methods, case studies, comparative analysis. Training in quantitative methods, e.g. content analysis, is also of interest since the project seeks to employ a mixed-method approach. Language skills in Spanish and Catalan is considered to be a merit but it is not a requirement.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.