Project Assistant at the Sociology of Law Department

Project Assistant for the Research Project ProTest

The project assistant will work in the research project Protest as a Democracy Test: Protest Culture under Transformation and as a Transformative Power (ProTest), funded by Horizon Europe – the European Union’s key funding programme for research and innovation. The project aims to analyse the context, current state, and potential trajectories of protest politics and culture as influenced by the global trend of de-democratization. The focus is on the countries of the European Union (EU) and the Eastern Partnership (EaP) in a comparative perspective.

The overarching aim of the research is twofold:

1. To analyse whether and how ongoing de-democratization processes affect patterns of protest culture, and how these effects vary depending on the quality of democracy in different countries.
2. To investigate whether and how these affected patterns of protest culture influence the state of democracy in these countries, with a particular focus on representation as the inclusion of citizens’ preferences in the political agenda.

The Department of Sociology of Law is looking for a fixed term position as part of Work Package 4 of the project in the Swedish context. This is based on the instrumentalization of discursive frames in Sweden. The objectives of this work package are to analyse political actor agenda and framing in response to protests within the mainstream media, to reveal whether and how protestor agendas penetrate mainstream media agendas and what the agency of media is in representing protest repertoires and framing, and to reveal how the political and media actors instrumentalize discursive strategies in response to protests.

The duties of the post:

• Compiling the data of quantitative, qualitative and critical discourse analysis
• Collecting and coding the media material
• Quantitative content analysis of media and mapping actor-discourse networks
• Qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis of media
• Writing internal report on findings

Required qualifications:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in sociology of law, sociology, media/communication studies, political science, or related field.
• Demonstrated research skill and reliability in collaborative projects.
• Proficiency in Swedish & English (oral and written).
• Experience with content or discourse analysis and careful documentation.

Additional Merits (strongly preferred):

• Knowledge of media-framing theory and protest studies.

Terms:

• Full-time (100%) for two months, 1 April–31 May 2026 or part-time (50%) 1 April-31 July 2026
• Employment and remuneration per Lund University regulations.
• Hybrid workspace (both in person and remote possible by agreement)

Application:

Send a single PDF including:

1. Cover letter (max 2 pages) stating fit for WP4 and availability.
2. CV with publications (if any) and degree certificates.
3. One short writing sample (e.g., thesis chapter, article).
4. Names and contact details of 2 referees

Terms of employment

This position is full-time for 2 months or part-time for 4 months.

Start date: 1 April 2026 or by agreement.

Application deadline: 5 January 2026

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences and the faculty strives to ensure diversity. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset. Priority will be given to the underrepresented gender in the subject at Lund University, in cases of equally qualified applicants, unless there are valid reasons to the contrary.

Questions:

Contact: michael.molavi@soclaw.lu.se, isabel.schoultz@soclaw.lu.se, or elin.jonsson@soclaw.lu.se