PhD Candidate: Controlling the Guardian - How Politicisation Shapes Council-Commission Relations over EU Policy Enforcement

Employment

1.0 FTE

Gross monthly salary

€ 2,541 - € 3,247

Required background

Research University Degree

Organizational unit

Nijmegen School of Management

Application deadline

19 February 2023

Apply now

Are you puzzled by EU enforcement politics? As a PhD candidate on the Controlling the Guardian project, your aim will be to understand and explain politicised interinstitutional dynamics between the European Commission, the Council and the EU member states. The Nijmegen School of Management is looking for a PhD candidate with a keen interest in multidisciplinary research and a solid understanding of quantitative and qualitative methods.
State-of-the-art debates in political science and public administration uncover a worrying trend: the European Commission, 'Guardian of the Treaties', has become increasingly reluctant to enforce EU law and policies, while member states, facing Eurosceptic electorates, escalate their attempts to influence the Commission's decisions regarding enforcement. To date no research has addressed these dynamic relations between the main actors in the European arena.
You will study the Commission's decision-making in the context of infringement procedures. You will make use of theoretical literatures on 1) the types and antecedents of EU politicisation; 2) the drivers and effects of the politicisation of the EU Commission; 3) the effects of EU politicisation on interinstitutional relations; 4) the determinants of the Commission's strategies and Commission-member state interactions during the EU infringement procedure; and 5) constructivist approaches to mutually constitutive relations and the role of acculturation in interinstitutional dynamics. The project will contain a comparative element, which may either include multiple EU policy areas, member states, different institutional levels across which Commission-Council relations and Commission-member state relations are found, and/or a comparison between the infringement procedure and policy-specific enforcement procedures (such as the Excessive Deficit procedure). The project will have a mixed- or multi-method research design.
You will work closely with your supervisors, Reinoud van der Veer, Anna van der Vleuten, Ellen Mastenbroek and Reini Schrama, to further develop the proposed project and tailor it to your taste. You will be expected to write four publishable papers and defend a PhD thesis at Radboud University based on your research. You will be entitled to training (25% of your working time) in project design and management, methods and/or content-related courses. You will have a 5% teaching load.

Profile

• You hold a Master's degree in Political Science, Public Administration, EU Studies, or a related social science field.
• You have a solid knowledge of political institutions (from a comparative perspective); knowledge of EU legal and policy frameworks is considered to be an advantage.
• You have affinity with theory-driven empirical research.
• You are keen to work in a multidisciplinary research team.
• You have ample experience with the combination of different methodologies, including nested case studies, social network analysis and mixing of qualitative and quantitative text analyses.
• You are able to work both independently and in close cooperation with the daily supervisor and other members of the research project or research group.
• You have the skills necessary to finish the PhD project in time: strong skills in project management, flexibility, a proactive approach, and excellent academic writing skills.
• You attach great value to professional and scientific integrity and live up to these values.
• You have an excellent command of written and spoken English. Dutch language proficiency is an advantage.

We are

The Nijmegen School of Management  enables students, institutions and companies, societal actors and governments to play their part in a transformation towards sustainable societies. In doing so, it is committed to Radboud University's mission of contributing to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. In the context of our 'Responsible governance for sustainable societies' mission, we address scientific and societal challenges from a good governance perspective. Our work focuses on the topics Beyond Economy, Climate, Inclusivity, Safety, and Democracy. By building, questioning and extending the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), we acknowledge their interrelatedness and focus on a number of grand challenges within society. We contribute to innovation and sustainable growth on topics such as inequality, gender, decent work and poverty. Furthermore, we address environmental and climate challenges, seeking to contribute towards resolving them.
At the Nijmegen School of Management, academic research and teaching are carried out in challenging educational programmes. These programmes are offered in the areas of Business Administration; Economics and Business Economics; Geography, Planning and Environment; Political Science; and Public Administration. Academic research takes place within the Institute for Management Research . Research is carried out within the above-mentioned domains and in interdisciplinary research groups: the Hotspots. The Nijmegen School of Management currently has 400 staff and some 5,000 students.
Your PhD research project will be embedded in the multidisciplinary research hotspot EUROPAL . You will join the International Relations group at the Department of Political Science . You will participate in the doctoral programme of the Netherlands Institute of Governance (link is external) and you will be a member of the Doctoral School of the Institute for Management Research  (IMR).

Radboud University
We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!
We offer

• It concerns an employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,541 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,247 in the fourth year (salary scale P ).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services . Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions . You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.
Would you like more information?
For questions about the position, please contact Dr Reinout van der Veer, Assistant Professor at  [email protected] . Alternatively, you can contact Prof. Anna van der Vleuten, Professor of Contesting Europeanization at [email protected] .
Practical information and applying
You can apply until 19 February 2023, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Dr Reinout van der Veer. Please fill in the application form and attach the following documents:

• A Letter of motivation.
• Your CV.
• A writing sample such as a chapter from your Master's thesis or a forthcoming or published paper.

The first round of interviews will take place on Friday 3 March. The second round of interviews will take place on Friday 17 March. You would preferably begin employment on 1 June 2023.
We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure . It offers a rough outline of what you can expect during the application process, how we handle your personal data and how we deal with internal and external candidates.
Apply now Application deadline 19 February 2023

We would like to recruit our new colleague ourselves. Acquisition in response to this vacancy will not be appreciated.

Dr Veer, R.A. van der (Reinout)
Assistant Professor
[email protected]
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When are you an internal candidate?
You are an internal candidate if you:

• Work at Radboud University (i.e. have an employment contract with Radboud University).
• Are a former Radboud University employee receiving unemployment (WW/BWNU) benefits paid by Radboud University (which started less than two years ago or resulted from the discontinuation of your job/redundancy).
• Currently work as a student employee at Radboud University through the campus employment office.
• Work as a temporary employee at, or have been seconded to, Radboud University.

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Last modified: 06 February 2023
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