PhD Positions in the "Contested Frontiers of Settler States" Project

There are vacancies for two PhD positions at the Department of Comparative Politics.

Each position is for a fixed-term period of 4 years. Of that period, at least 75% will be devoted to PhD training and research as an integral member of the exciting ERC project “Contested Frontiers: Understanding the constitutional politics of settler-state peripheries” (ConFront). The other 25% may involve teaching, supervision, and administrative tasks at the department.

The project combines political theory, constitutional law, and comparative politics to understand efforts – usually by Indigenous peoples versus settlers/states – to (re)constitute frontier jurisdictions, especially in the North American Arctic, Fennoscandic north, U.S. Pacific, and Australian tropics. ConFront consists of five team members led by the department’s associate professor of Arctic governance, Aaron Spitzer.

The successful candidates will be based in Bergen, ideally beginning autumn 2024. They will actively collaborate with other team members (including co-writing academic articles); will help conduct fieldwork and research dissemination in frontier regions; will assist with administrative responsibilities related to the project (including organization of workshops, writing deliverables, and data management); and will  participate in the department’s Indigenous Peoples and Governance in the Arctic research group.

Candidates are expected to propose and execute a PhD research plan contributing to ConFront’s objectives. A general overview of ConFront can be found here. More specific project details are available from the project leader.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• Applicants must hold a master's degree or the equivalent in Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Philosophy, Constitutional Law, or a related discipline relevant to the project. The  degree must be completed by the application deadline;
• The requirements are generally a grade B or better on the master’s thesis and for the master's degree in total;
• Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner and demonstrate good collaborative skills;
• Applicants must be proficient in both written and oral English;
• Applicant will ideally have experience in – and commitment to – the study of Indigenous, Arctic, or related issues and challenges;
• Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to the department for an interview.

About the PhD positions

The duration of the PhD position is 4 years, of which 25 per cent of the time comprises required duties associated with research, teaching and dissemination of results. The employment period may be reduced if you have previously been employed in a recruitment position.

About the PhD training:

As a PhD research fellow, you will take part in the PhD programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences, UiB. The programme corresponds to a period of three years and leads to the PhD degree. To be eligible for admission you must normally have an educational background corresponding to a master’s degree with a scope of 120 ECTS credits, which builds on a bachelor’s degree with a scope of 180 ECTS credits (normally 2 + 3 years), or an integrated master’s degree with a scope of 300 ECTS credits (5 years). Master’s degrees must normally include an independent work of a minimum of 30 ECTS credits. It is expected that the topic of the master’s degree is connected to the academic field to which you are seeking admission.