PhD Scholarship in Political Science & European law in the International PhD Programme GEM-DIAMOND

Updated: over 1 year ago
Deadline: 03 Jul 2022

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
3-year PhD scholarship in Political Science & European Law in the GEM-DIAMOND programme at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and Laval University (UL). The expected starting date is 1 October 2022.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
This 3-Year-long doctoral fellowship is offered as part of a specific collective project within a multiannual international research effort on Globalisation, Europe, and Multilateralism (GEM). This project (2022-2026), coordinated by the Institut d’études européennes (IEE) at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), will assess the EU’s capacity to act given the challenges facing Democratic Institutions, the rise of Alternative MOdels and mounting Normative Dissensus (DIAMOND).

GEM-DIAMOND is a Marie Skłodowska Curie Action - Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) involving 7 European and 4 international degree-awarding Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) alongside 6 well-established non-academic institutions. The project will hire and train 16 doctoral fellows to help address knowledge gaps associated with the growing normative tensions undermining multilateral and democratic practice – for further information see www.gem-diamond.eu

GEM-DIAMOND’s overall research programme will collectively tackle three shared knowledge gaps regarding contemporary strains on liberal democracy:

  • Objective 1: Conceptualising the seemingly mounting dissensus surrounding liberal democracy.
  • Objective 2: Unpacking the ambiguous role different actors can play as both champions and challengers of liberal democratic norms, values and practices.
  • Objective 3: Assessing the impact of increased dissensus regarding liberal democracy on the policy instruments of the EU and its capacity to act in its internal and external policies.

Early-Stage Researcher n°8 (ESR8) is part of GEM-DIAMOND's 2nd Work Package (WP2) entitled ‘Unpacking actors of dissensus’. WP2 includes 4 individual doctoral projects that will help map the network of actors of dissensus as each one will work on a specific type of actor.

Both individually and collectively, the 4 PhD fellows associated with WP2 will help with the mapping of the main actor networks that play a role in contemporary dissensus regarding liberal democracy in Europe. Centred on the multi-level European polity, WP2 will identify the challengers seeking to transform democratic and rule of law practice, be it either to undermine existing liberal democratic regimes in an anti-liberal perspective or to recast them through new forms of participation and deliberation. The four PhD fellows involved will adopt an actorcentric approach, with each Researcher focusing on a specific type of actor. Ultimately, WP2 will map and analyse the legal, political, societal, and technocratic actor networks active within the EU institutions and its Member State driving dissensus in the EU.

Entitled ‘Technocratic actors as ‘teachers’ of the rule of law: EU technical assistance, capacity-building and other socialisation pathways’ the individual research project of ESR8 is in the fields of Political Science and European Law.

ESR8 will focus on technocratic actors. This IRP will explore the EU as an external policy actor functioning as a ‘teacher’ of the rule of law at the international level and the capacity of its instruments to respond to mounting local dissensus in target countries. It will explore such instruments as technical assistance, capacitybuilding and other socialisation pathways to promoting the rule of law mobilised by the EU. It will do this across two or three different regulatory areas (for example environment, finance, human rights, trade, labour right, intellectual property, etc.) where the EU acts as a relevant international actor on the world stage. The IRP will involve a comparative analysis seeking to flesh out the general modalities, conditions and practices of the export of concepts and practices of rule of law.

As part of their application, candidates will be asked to submit a personal interpretation of the research project in the form a specific project proposal of 2-3 pages, including a research question, a theoretical framework, a methodological strategy, and a justification for the two or three regulatory areas selected.

ABOUT THE POSITION
ESR8 will:

  • Be hired for 3 years by UCPH as a Doctoral Researcher
  • Work under the direction of a Joint Supervisory Trio involving:
  • Pr. Mikael Madsen (UCPH) – Co-Supervisor
  • Pr. Jean-Frédéric Morin (UL) – Co-supervisor
  • Dr. M Bonomi (IAI) – Non-Academic Mentor
  • A second EU-based institution within the consortium will be designated to contribute to the supervisory environment
  • Individually work towards a double doctoral degree in ‘Political Science’ under the joint supervision of Pr. M. Madsen (UCPH) and Pr. JF. Morin (UL)
  • Provide an interdisciplinary (Law/Political Science) perspective to the collective work in WP2 seeking to map of 'actors of dissensus’ in Europe
  • Participate in all collective research and training activities and submit to the programme’s regular joint evaluations

SUCCESSFUL PHD CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO:  

1. Complete the Scheduled Mobility Agenda:

  • A. Training & Research Stay @ UCPH, Copenhagen, Denmark (Oct. 2022 - Sept. 2023)
  • B. Training & Research Stay @ UL, Québec, Canada (Oct. 2023 – June 2024)
  • C. Research Stay @ UCPH, Copenhagen, Denmark (July. 2024 - Dec. 2024)
  • D. Non-Academic Secondment @ IAI, Rome Italy (Jan. 2025 - April 2025)
  • E. Research Stay @ UCPH, Copenhagen, Denmark (May 2025 – Sep. 2025)

2. Successfully accomplish the doctoral training scheduled both at the local and GEM-DIAMOND levels

3. Secure a doctoral training certificate from UCPH and UL’

4. Contribute to a WP2 ‘Joint Mapping of Actors of Dissensus’

5. Contribute to two-project wide manuscripts:

  • A. A Handbook on ‘Rethinking Impact in Political & Social Sciences’
  • B. An Edited Volume reflecting the shared conclusions of the project

6. Submit an article to the Journal of European Public Policy (JEPP)

7. Write an original PhD dissertation on ‘Technocratic actors as ‘teachers’ of the rule of law: EU technical assistance, capacity- building and other socialisation pathways’

8. Contribute to teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in English offered by the Faculty of Law

QUALIFICATIONS  

  • Applicants must have obtained a degree that corresponds to the Danish Master of Laws degree which is a second cycle 120 ECTS degree (two years of full-time studies), that builds on a 180 ECTS Bachelor’s degree (three years of full-time studies) or equivalent qualifications. Applicants with a non-Danish Master's degree will have their degree assessed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science in order to establish, if the Master's degree is equivalent to a Danish Master's degree.
  • Applicants may submit their application before they have completed their Master’s degree. The Master’s degree must be obtained before the start date.
  • At the date of the call deadline, candidates must be in the first four years of their research career (exceptions due to career break will be considered) and have not been awarded a PhD degree.
  • At the time of recruitment, the researcher must not have resided, or carried out his/her activity in the country of the first host institution (i.e., Denmark) for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to October 2022.
  • English proficiency must be attested either through a previous English language diploma, or an internationally recognised proficiency test (i.e., IELTS, IBT, TOEFL or Cambridge)

HOW TO APPLY
The application deadline is 3 July 2022, at 5 pm Central European Time.

Applications are accepted exclusively online through the central online application system through the GEM-DIAMOND website (www.gem-diamond.eu )

The application, in English, must include the following:

  • A personal profile form (incl. CV overview)
  • A scientific profile form (incl. ESR’s expression of interest, statement of motivation and personal interpretation of the research project)
  • 3. A full academic CV
  • 4. An academic record with scan of the degree qualifications. Certified copies of original diploma(s) and transcripts (both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree) in the original language and an authorized English translation if they are issued in other language than English or Danish
  • A proof of language proficiency. Documentation of English level can for instance be documented by an excellent IELTS or TOEFL test
  • Two academic recommendation letters
  • Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. Likewise incomplete applications (i.e., without all required documents) will be rejected.

    CONTACT
    For more information about the process, guidelines or the application system, please contact GEM-DIAMOND at [email protected]

    TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY
    The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions offer attractive salary and working conditions. For the position at UCPH salary, pension and terms of employment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State and according to the rules and regulations laid down by European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie S. Curie COFUND programme. Depending on seniority, the monthly salary begins around DKK 28,365.85 (approx. 3,810.09 EUR) plus pension as a PhD fellow.

    The position is covered by the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at the Universities of December 11, 2019.

    The appointment is conditioned upon the candidates’ successful enrolment in the Faculty of Health and Medical Science’s PhD school. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the candidate and supervisor during the research assistant employment.

    The PhD student has a work obligation of up to 840 hours over the 3 years period of time without additional pay. The work obligation can include for instance teaching. 

    If you are offered the position a certificate of criminal record must be submitted.

    The PhD study must be completed in accordance with The Ministerial Order on the PhD programme (2013) and the University’s rules on achieving the degree.  

    Acknowledgement: Emerald has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034290

    UCPH wishes to reflect the surrounding society and therefore encourages all interested parties regardless of personal background to apply for the position.


    Part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and among Europe’s top-ranking universities, the University of Copenhagen promotes research and teaching of the highest international standard. Rich in tradition and modern in outlook, the University gives students and staff the opportunity to cultivate their talent in an ambitious and informal environment. An effective organisation – with good working conditions and a collaborative work culture – creates the ideal framework for a successful academic career.



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