PhD Positions in Comparative Politics

There are vacancies for two PhD positions at the at the Department of Comparative Politics. Each position is for a fixed-term period of 3 years. This period will be entirely devoted to PhD training and research as an integral member of the research project “Representing the Future in an Aging Europe: The Politics of Demographic Change” (funded by the Trond-Mohn-Foundation). 

About the project/work tasks:

The project addresses the impact of demographic change on representative democracy. The growing proportion of senior citizens across European populations increases their influence on elections and policy decisions. How does this affect the political representation of old, young, and future generations’ interests? To assess the impact of demographic change on Generational Political Pluralism in Norway, Europe, and beyond, the project investigates generational cleavages in two integral parts of policymaking: public opinion and political representation. The empirical analyses draw on a combination of observational, behavioural, and experimental data and will use a range of innovative methods like survey experiments, text analysis, and social network analysis to make descriptive and causal inferences. Read more about the project here. A detailed project plan is available upon request.

The project consists of five team members and is led by Trond-Mohn-Fellow Jana Birke Belschner. The successful candidates will be based in Bergen. An ideal start-up date is during the Autumn semester and no later than 1.12.24. They will actively collaborate with other team members in implementing the project’s work packages and will participate in the department’s research group on citizens, opinion, representation, and elections (CORE).

Candidates are expected to propose and execute a PhD research plan within the subfields of political behaviour, political economy, and/or political representation that contributes to the project objectives.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• The applicant must hold a master's degree or the equivalent in Political Science, Economics, or a related discipline relevant to the project. The degree must be completed by the application deadline;
• The requirements are generally a grade of 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;
• 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. 

The teaching language is usually Norwegian, but some of the teaching is given in English.