Postdoctoral fellow in political science: party competition in Europe

Are you our next postdoc with a focus on using expert surveys to examine political party competition around cleavage politics?

The Department of Political Science invites applications for a 2-year postdoctoral position to develop expert surveys to measure political party positions on the transnational cleavage in Europe and produce research based on the results. The deadline for applications is 14 April 2025.

Project description

The position is part of the 3-year research project “political party competition and the transnational cleavage in Europe” (https://www.svet.lu.se/en/article/major-research-grant-awarded-professor-jonathan-polk-exploring-political-party-dynamics-europe).

The purpose of the project is to update our understanding of political party competition for the 21st century by examining and explaining the positioning of political parties on topics that make up a cleavage separating parties that support international integration and denationalisation from those that strive to preserve cultural distinctiveness and national autonomy.

Within this project, we will collect and analyze data on party positions surrounding political topics that relate to this transnational divide: immigration, the environment, Gender/LGBTQ+ politics and international trade. In connection with the Chapel Hill Expert Survey on party positioning (CHES), you will work with the project PI to develop and run a series highly-focused expert surveys with the purpose of unpacking and understanding the positions that political parties in Europe take on these four policy areas at the centre of the transnational cleavage.

Main responsibilities

The postdoctoral project will, in collaboration with the PI, first develop expert lists for the relevant topics. We will then design, program, and deploy separate surveys to these experts for each political topic. We will collect these data, ultimately building and analyzing cross-national datasets. The results will provide a deeper understanding of party competition in policy areas where we currently have only surface knowledge of party positioning.

The tasks included in this position are as follows:

Constructing and maintaining expert and party lists for a range of European party systems. Writing, programming, and fielding four short surveys focused on different aspects of the transnational cleavage. Building and analyzing the datasets generated from these expert surveys. Co-authoring 2-4 articles in international peer-reviewed journals based on these data.

The recruited postdoctoral fellow will also have opportunities to contribute to the project with their own ideas around party competition and cleavage politics.

Qualification requirements

A postdoctoral fellow is an employee who is employed primarily for research and who has been awarded a doctoral degree or has a foreign degree that is deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree.

Requirements for the position are:

• PhD in a social science discipline, with an emphasis on political party competition in Europe. Examples of such degrees include: political science, sociology, economics, and social psychology.
• Experience with quantitative methods for observational data
• Interest in cleavage politics in Europe, particularly at the level of political parties

Additional qualifications for the position that are deemed as assets are:

• Experience of working with expert survey data
• Experience with Qualtrics survey software
• A research interest in estimating the positions of political parties
• Peer-reviewed publication(s) focusing on party and/or cleavage politics in Europe
• European language skills beyond English are a merit

Assessment criteria

This is a merit-based position focused primarily on research. The position is intended as an initial career step and the assessment of applicants will primarily be based on their scientific merits and potential as researchers given the requirements stated above.

The degree must have been completed no later than before the employment decision is made, but no more than three years before the application deadline. An older degree may be acceptable in special circumstances. Special circumstances refer to sick leave, parental leave, elected assignments in trade unions, service in the Swedish Armed Forces or other similar conditions, as well as clinical affiliation or service/assignment relevant to the subject area.

Terms of employment

The position involves at least two years of full-time employment, with the possibility of extension under special circumstances according to the Swedish national agreement ‘Agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral fellow’. The start date is 14 August 2025, or by agreement.

Lund University is a government agency, which means that you receive special benefits, generous annual leave and a favourable occupational pension. Lund University has generous support for parental leave and favourable offers of exercise and wellness. Read more on Lund University's website about: Work at Lund University.

Application

You apply for the position via Lund University’s recruitment system Varbi. As an applicant, you are responsible for ensuring that the application is complete in accordance with the advertisement and that it is received by the University no later than the application deadline.

When you apply, we ask you to fill in the information requested and attach the following documents:

• CV – degrees and other education, work experience and list of publications
• Research proposal (should not exceed 3 pages) that describes:
    o why you are interested in the area/project described in the advertisement
    o why and how you want to carry out the project
    o what makes you suitable for the project in question
• Copy of proof of doctoral degree
• Letters of recommendation (no more than 2 files)
• A single important publication/working paper to support your application. 

Description of the workplace

At the Department of Political Science at Lund University, you will be part of one of Europe's foremost research environments in political science. The department safeguards the breadth of subjects and methodological diversity and is successful in the competition for external research funding. The Eden building, located in central Lund, offers an inspiring working environment with a unique combination of traditions and modern research. We have a high number of applicants for our programmes in Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies and Intelligence Analysis with just over 600 students per semester. The department has about 110 employees including about 30 PhD students. We value a good working environment highly and invest heavily in this in the form of joint activities and events.

We look forward to receiving your application!