Postdoc Fellowship on Diasporas and Contested Sovereignt​y

A four-year post-doctoral fellowship is available within the Project "Diasporas and Contested Sovereignty," sponsored by the European Research Council (ERC), and to be conducted at the University of Amsterdam under the supervision of Dr. Maria Koinova. The University of Amsterdam has an internationally acclaimed research profile and is a member of the League of European Research Universities. Its Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences is the largest in the social sciences in the Netherlands.

Scholarship / Financial aid: a gross monthly salary of 3.195 EUR+field research subsidy and funding to travel
Date: one year
Deadline: March 15, 2012
Open to: candidates with academic background in comparative politics

Within the ERC project, a team of four researchers (PI, post-doc, two Ph.D. researchers) will investigate the transnational mobilization of conflict-generated diasporas in Europe and their impact on polities experiencing contested sovereignty in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. The team aspires to answer an overarching question: does the mobilization of conflict-generated diasporas in liberal states have a mitigating or exacerbating effect on political conflict in the original
homelands? The overall project focuses on five levels of analysis:

1. the attitudes of elite and non-elite *individuals*,
2. characteristics of specific *groups,
3. *five *nation-states* with different migrant incorporation regimes (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK),
4. diaspora linkages to *supranational* EU and *global* institutions, and
5. diaspora mobilization patterns specific to each of the three conflict-prone *regions*.

Complementing the results of the comparative studies, the project will also conduct a cross-country representative survey to capture attitudes of non-elite individuals in 25 country-groups.

Candidates with academic background in comparative politics, international relations, transnationalism, migration, foreign policy analysis, or other relevant post-graduate experience are encouraged to apply. Advanced quantitative skills are required. The post-doctoral fellow will develop a code-book and questionnaire, pre-test the survey, organize an international expert workshop, the final conference and other project events, analyze the survey data, and assist in the production of an edited volume. S/he will also conduct their own research including the Kurdish diaspora mobilization in selected EU countries, EU institutions, and in Turkey. There is also a teaching requirement of approximately 1 ½ courses (of 14 weeks) per academic year.

The position offers a gross monthly salary of 3.195 EUR in the first year (based on a full-time employment, 38 hours per week or 1fte), and will increase on an annual basis in line with regulations for Dutch universities. The position also offers a field research subsidy and funding to travel to academic conferences.

Interested candidates should submit:

1. a two page motivation letter covering why they will be a good fit, individual research and teaching experience, and team working skills;
2. detailed CV;
3. research proposal/essay;
4. existing publication or a single-authored academic paper (max. 20 pages double space).
5. two recommendation letters from academic faculty.

Applications should be sent to
sollicitaties-fmg@uva.nl by *March 15, 2012*.
Informal inquiries could be addressed to Dr. Maria Koinova at
m.v.koinova@uva.nl
*The starting date is September 1, 2012.*