PhD Position in Political Science

PhD position

There is a vacancy for a PhD position in political science at the Department of Administration and Organization Theory (from August 2022: Department of Government), linked to a HorizonEurope project on “The interchange between democratic institutions and the globalization of the economy” (DEMOTRANS). The position is for a fixed-term period of 4 years, of which 75% will be dedicated to research for a PhD project within the theme of DEMOTRANS and 25% will be dedicated to teaching and administrative tasks at the Department. Successful candidates become part of DEMOTRANS’ multidisciplinary consortium of six leading research groups from four European universities and a UK-based NGO.

About the project

The DEMOTRANS project explores the links between democratic institutions and the globalization of the economy. The project team at University of Bergen concentrates on two aspects of this project. The first aspect relates to role and importance of bureaucratic expertise in modern policy-making. Our ambition here is to understand when and how bureaucrats influence the development of public policies, and how this affects (the legitimacy of) local as well as global governance. The second aspect relates to the tensions arising from differences in temporal structures, norms and rhythms that characterize governance network members within and across various levels of governance. Our ambition here is to understand how the temporal aspects of network member interactions – such as time-horizons, scheduling, or (a)synchronous organizational life-cycles – affect the functioning, efficiency and effectiveness of policy-making in governance networks.  

The project leader is professor Zuzana Murdoch .

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a master’s degree in political science. Master students can apply provided they have submitted their master’s thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the master’s degree has been awarded before taking up the position. The degree must be awarded by 1 October 2022 at the latest.
• The requirements are a grade B or better both on the master’s thesis and for the overall master’s degree.
• As an applicant, you should be able to work independently, have considerable work capacity as well as an enthusiasm for research.
• Knowledge of Norwegian or other Scandinavian language(s) is not a prerequisite for the position but will be considered an advantage.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to the department for an interview.

The teaching language is usually Norwegian, but some of teaching is given in English.

 We can offer:

• Salary at pay grade 54 upon appointment (Code 1017) on the government salary scale (equivalent to NOK 491200 per year). Further promotions are made according to length of service in the position
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Good welfare benefits

For more information about this position – including the list of supporting documents to upload – and for submission of your complete application via the apply button. 

Closing date: 15 August 2022. The application must be marked: 22/7845

Applications submitted without a project proposal of maximum 2500 words (excluding bibliography) or applications sent as e-mails will not be considered. Only submitted documents will be subjected to an expert assessment.

General information:             

For additional information about the DEMOTRANS project: Contact Zuzana Murdoch ([email protected] ).

For practical questions regarding the application procedures: Contact Senior Executive Officer HR – Hanne Cappelen ([email protected] )