Two Doctoral Researcher Positions in Political Science

The Research Group on Multilevel Politics (MLP) led by Christian Freudlsperger at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (D-GESS) of ETH Zurich is seeking applications for two 4-year (100%) doctoral researcher positions. The positions are to be filled as soon as possible. The positions are funded by the SNSF Starting Grant "Public Reinsurance in Multilevel Polities" (EUROPE RE).

Project background

The doctoral researchers will work on the project "Public Reinsurance in Multilevel Polities" (EUROPE RE). The five-year project is funded as a Starting Grant by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). EUROPE RE seeks to develop a novel understanding of the European Union as a provider of "public reinsurance" that offers back-up support to member states in case they are overburdened by global and transboundary crises. The project aims to develop the concept of public reinsurance, measure its empirical occurrence, investigate public and elite support, and analyze its normative consequences. An overview of the project's research agenda was recently published here.

Job description

Together with EUROPE RE's team of research assistants, postdocs, and the group leader, the two doctoral researchers are to advance the conceptual and empirical analysis of public reinsurance in the EU. This includes a novel dataset on EU-level capacities for transboundary risk management, the collection of public opinion data by means of a conjoint survey experiment, and the investigation of elite preferences by means of quantitative text analysis. Strong methodological training and knowledge of state-of-the-art survey and text analysis methods are considered an asset.

Your profile

• Completed Masters degree (or very close to completion) in political science, European studies, or a related discipline 
• Experience in conducting empirical research in the area of European studies and/or multilevel governance 
• Strong methodological training; experience with survey experiments and/or quantitative text analysis desirable
• Excellent written and spoken English

Deadline: 15 April 2024