Fully-funded PhD: Authoritarian Repression and the Strategies of Blacklisting

We are seeking to attract a highly-motivated PhD student to join a team of researchers at the University of Adelaide engaged in a four year project investigating the use of blacklisting powers by authoritarian states. The project forms part of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship led by Professor Tim Legrand.

The PhD project: This PhD project explores the international politics of exclusion and investigates the mechanisms by which authoritarian regimes pursue and persecute citizens they have blacklisted for their political beliefs. Its findings will be vital to revealing the cross border patterns and processes of exclusion by authoritarian states, and contribute to our knowledge of how such systems can be resisted by institutes and agents of global democracy.

Funding: This is a fully-funded PhD scholarship, which includes an annual stipend of AU$32,500 and a full waiver of tuition fees. The funding period runs for 3.5 years, and comes with additional research funds to support travel and other costs. 

Location: This is a full-time PhD project based at the University of Adelaide, Australia. The successful candidate must be based in Adelaide for the duration of the PhD project. Unfortunately this position cannot be converted into a part-time role. 

Eligibility: Eligible applicants must have completed a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Sociology, International Relations or a related social sciences discipline. You must also hold a Master’s (or Honours, if from Australia) degree that has a significant thesis component of 6,000 words or more. There are no nationality constraints.

Desirable (but not essential) qualities: 

• Fluency in one of the following languages: Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Hungarian, or Arabic 
• Experience in qualitative research methods 

How to apply: Please email, with the subject line “ARC Blacklisting PhD Project”, the following materials to tim.legrand@adelaide.edu.au by the 20th April 2025

1.    Your CV, indicating your qualifications and research experience; 
2.    A sample of your academic writing and/or a copy of your most recent thesis-length work; and
3.    A statement (no more than 500 words) outlining your suitability for the project.