Two-year Postdoc Position in Computational Social Science

The Department of Political Science at Aarhus University invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher to join a research team studying how and why politicians learn from policies from abroad.

The position will focus on (1) theorizing the mechanisms underlying politicians’ selection and use of policies from other countries to understand how they reconcile competing considerations (2) examining the selection and use of policies from abroad through computational analysis, (3) and on turning this research into high impact publications that advance our understanding of how and why politicians learn from policies from abroad. The position also includes teaching the equivalent to one course per year.

The starting date is 1 February 2024 but can be flexible subject to mutual agreement.

The Research Project

The position is part of the research project “POLABROAD – How and Why Politicians
Learn from Policies Abroad” led by Associate Professor Roman Senninger and funded
by a grant from the Carlsberg Foundation.

Important societal challenges, such as inflation, climate change, and pandemics, transcend national borders. As these shared problems affect different countries, policymakers often look to foreign policy solutions. But how and why do politicians select and use policies from abroad? Existing research studies international policy diffusion at highly aggregated levels (e.g., countries). Consequently, both academic and public debates lack a coherent understanding of the central actors who decide on the implementation of policies from abroad.

Broadly speaking, the project seeks to understand the mechanisms underlying politicians’ selection and use of policies from other countries with a focus on how they reconcile competing considerations. The primary responsibility of the postdoctoral researcher will involve an in-depth examination of whether and how politicians address foreign policies in parliamentary debates and other forms of communication (e.g., social media). This segment of the project employs robust and reliable research designs, with a strong emphasis on computational analysis.

The Job

The postdoctoral researcher will be employed as part of a research group and is expected to engage in collaborative research with Associate Professor Roman Senninger, as well as the other members of the research team.

The postdoc will be expected to take a leading role in developing, designing, coordinating research and publishing research in high impact journals. Moreover, as part of the research group, the postdoc is expected to provide support  for project-related organizational and administrative tasks.

The successful applicant will be part of a cutting-edge research project and a supportive research team. There will be excellent opportunities for intellectual development and mentoring as well as developing an independent research agenda within the context of the project.

The project offers funding for a stay abroad, conferences, additional training, and good opportunities for developing a strong academic network.

In addition to the outlined research tasks, the position entails teaching the equivalent of one course per year. Depending on the applicants’ prior teaching experience and the need for the applicants’ teaching capacity in the relevant years, a one-year extension in return for additional teaching might be negotiable. This extension will be decided by the Head of Department no later than one year after employment.

The job comes with a competitive salary according to the Danish pay schedule.

Your qualifications

Applicants are expected to hold (or being close to completing) a PhD in political science or
another field relevant to the project. In addition to this the applicant should:

• have experience in studying political behavior
• have experience with text data and computational analysis
• have experience with programming (e.g., R or Python)
• have experience with large-scale data management
• have excellent command of spoken and written English
• have an interest in understanding how politicians learn from abroad
• have an interest in conducting collaborative research
• have an interest in and the ability to acquire new methodological skills

As part of your application, you should attach a CV, proof of PhD degree (or the near completion of a PhD degree) and your best publication (could be an unpublished chapter of your dissertation, a working paper, or a published article). In addition to this, you should provide a short research proposal (1-2 pages) that outline potential avenues for research related to the project. The proposal should be relatively concrete, specifying research design and data collection.

Who we are

The Department of Political Science is one of the six departments at Aarhus BSS, one of the five faculties at Aarhus University. The department is among the largest and strongest political science departments in Europe, with particular strengths in the areas of political behavior, political psychology and political philosophy. In 2020, the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University was ranked as the top department in political science in continental Europe, according to Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking.

At the Department of Political Science, we emphasize a dynamic and flexible research and teaching profile characterized by pluralism and openness. With more than 100 academic staff members and 50 PhD students, we offer a lively, ambitious and highly collegial research and teaching environment with many international visitors and workshops and a clear international orientation. For more information about the Department of Political Science, please see: https://ps.au.dk/en.

Further information

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Associate Professor Roman Senninger prior to submitting their application to learn more about the project and specific  tasks, E-mail rsenninger@ps.au.dk.

If you need help uploading your application or have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Coordinator Mette Fisker Præstegaard, Tel.: +4593522807, E-mail: mfp@au.dk

Place of work

Department of Political Science, Bartholins Allé 7, DK – 8000 Aarhus C

International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information here:
https://internationalstaff.au.dk/relocationservice/

Please find more information about research opportunities at Aarhus University here: http://international.au.dk/research/

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here:
http://talent.au.dk/junior-researcher-development-programme/

Terms of employment

The appointment is made in accordance with the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities as well as the circular on the Collective Agreement for Academics Employed by the State (in Danish).
The job content and qualification requirements are described in further detail in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure

When you apply for this position it is mandatory to attach the following:

• Cover letter motivating why you are interested in being part of the POLABROAD project (max. 1 page)
• Research proposal (1-2 pages) outlining potential avenues for research related to the project
• Curriculum Vitae. You are encouraged to declare any periods of leave without research activity, including, for example, maternity leave, since your research activities are assessed in relation to your actual research time
• Education (diploma for master’s, PhD and possibly higher doctoral degree)
• List of publications (the enclosed publications must be clearly marked on the list of publications)
• Publications. Up to three publications can be included in the application. In the event of several authors the publications must be accompanied by a co-author statement concerning the applicant’s share of the collaborative work with the consent of the co-authors. Please use this template
• Teaching portfolio. The specific requirements regarding the documentation can be found here

Materials which cannot be uploaded together with the application may be submitted in three copies to Aarhus BSS HR & PhD, Aarhus University, Tåsingegade 1, 2nd floor, DK-8000 Aarhus C.

Read more about how to apply for an academic post at Aarhus BSS here

The evaluation process

After the application deadline, an assessment committee is appointed. Please note that the assessment of applicants is based solely on the material received prior to the application deadline. For further information, see Guidelines for Assessment Committee, Aarhus BSS.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University’s website.