There is a vacancy for a PhD position at the Department of Comparative Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences. The position is for a fixed-term period of 4 years, of which 25% will be dedicated to teaching, supervision, and administrative tasks at the Department.
The Department of Comparative Politics is a research-intensive department offering an exciting place for research and education on political institutions, organizations, processes, and behaviour at local, national, and international levels. The Department offers bachelor’s and master’s programmes in comparative politics, as well as a bachelor’s programme in European studies. Research at the department is organized in research groups, and around research projects.
About the project/work tasks:
The PhD position is a joint venture between the Faculty of Social Science, the Department of Comparative Politics, and “The Structure-Acceptance Nexus in Climate Politics” project.
The successful applicant will conduct research within the research project “The Structure-Acceptance Nexus in Climate Politics” (SANE-Clim) which is financed by the Akademiaavtalen and hosted by the Department of Comparative Politics. The Principal Investigator of SANE-Clim is Professor Michaël Tatham, who will also act as the PhD candidate’s main supervisor. SANE-Clim is a broad project which focuses on structural and acceptance dynamics of the climate and energy transition in advanced democracies.
The PhD position is focused on “The Politics of Offshore Wind”. Although restricted to offshore wind and its politics, the position is thematically and methodologically very open.
Thematically, the position is open to many different aspects offshore wind. For example:
- Citizen perceptions/acceptance/preferences/attitudes towards offshore wind
- The structure of public opinion towards offshore wind (e.g., changes over time, emerging or disappearing cleavages, contrast with other energy sources, etc.).
- The public-opinion policy link on offshore wind within the energy sector (e.g., responsiveness, congruence, feedback effects, etc.).
- Business lobbying and private sector influence in offshore wind (both in favour of offshore wind and against it).
- The (de)politicization of offshore wind, the science-policy interlink, the role of regulatory agencies.
- The (de)politicization of offshore wind, symbol politics, a possible populist backlash.
- Social movements, social mobilization (both online and offline), contestation, and civil disobedience regarding offshore wind.
- Democracy, representation, participation, policy change and policy reversal regarding offshore wind.
- Questions of judicialization and the role of courts regarding offshore wind.
- The regulation of offshore wind (e.g., licensing conditions and processes, marine spatial planning, public-private partnerships, local requirements, etc.).
- How public authorities and developers deal with conflicting interests, ranging from conflicting economic interests (e.g., fishing, tourism) to nature or environmental interests (e.g., local or transitory fauna, disruption of ecosystems);
- The role of multilevel public authorities, such as municipalities, regional governments, national governments, but also the European Union/EEA/EFTA or the United Nations.
- Industrial policy and political economy and their impact on offshore wind deployment.
- Interactions with other renewables such as solar or onshore wind (e.g., spillover and diffusion effects, competition between renewables, etc.).
- Interactions with different energy carriers (e.g., hydrogen).
- Offshore wind in the wider energy mix (fossils, nuclear, renewables).
- Offshore wind in wider electrification and decarbonization processes (power grid integration; electricity markets; decarbonization of specific industries or sectors; the carbon footprint of offshore wind commissioning, decommissioning, and waste management).
- Or other topics/issues
Methodological approaches may include the whole range of possibilities:
- Inductive or deductive.
- Experimental or observational.
- Quantitative or qualitative.
- Mixed or multi-method approaches.
As a whole the SANE-Clim project is methodologically pluralist and has until now consisted of work using an array of approaches, from survey experiments to observational quantitative data, all the way to the interpretation and assessment of legal texts relating to formal authority in multilevel systems.
Qualifications and personal qualities:
- The applicant must hold a master’s degree or have submitted all components of the degree by the application deadline, in Comparative Politics, Political Science, or relevant fields to offshore wind.
- The requirements are generally a grade B or better on the Master thesis and for the master’s degree in total.
- Appropriate methodological training must have been completed at the MA level or will have to be completed in the first year of the PhD.
- As an applicant you should be able to work both independently and as part of a team, have a considerable work capacity as well as an enthusiasm for research.
- Fluency in one of the Scandinavian languages and English is required.
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.
The successful candidate is expected to live and work in the Bergen area and to fully participate the activities at the Department.
About the PhD position:
About the PhD position
The duration of the PhD position is 4 years, of which 25 per cent of the time comprises obligatory duties associated with research, teaching, supervision, grading, and dissemination of results. The employment period for the successful candidate may be reduced if he or she previously has been employed in a PhD position.
There is opportunity for the PhD candidate to develop their own research agenda within the broad question of the politics of offshore wind. Applicants are asked to write a project proposal of 4 pages maximum (bibliography excluded) with an outline of how they would study “The Politics of Offshore Wind” within their PhD research.
There will be opportunities for the successful candidate to interact with relevant UiB institutions such as the Bergen Offshore Wind Centre (BOW), the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation (CET), the Bergen Energy Lab (BEL), the Centre for Sustainable Area Management (CeSAM), or the Department of Comparative Politics research groups on Citizens, Opinion, Representation and Elections (MORE) and on Challenges to Advanced Democracies (CHAD).
About the PhD training
As a PhD research fellow, you will take part in the PhD programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences, UiB. The programme corresponds to a period of three years and leads to the PhD degree. To be eligible for admission you must normally have an educational background corresponding to a master’s degree with a scope of 120 ECTS credits, which builds on a bachelor’s degree with a scope of 180 ECTS credits (normally 2 + 3 years), or an integrated master’s degree with a scope of 300 ECTS credits (5 years). Master’s degrees must normally include an independent work of a minimum of 30 ECTS credits.
We can offer:
- Salary as PhD (code 1017) NOK 501200,- per year. Automatic salary increases for up to 4 years with a 3% annual increase.
- A good and professionally challenging working environment
- Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
- Good welfare benefits
Project proposal:
A project proposal of 4 pages maximum (bibliography excluded) must accompany the application. Since many PhD theses have become article-based, the research proposal should highlight 2-3 paper ideas. These should provide brief information on the puzzle, research question, theory, data, and methods for each paper (around 1 page per paper idea). The proposal should also include a very short progress plan for the different parts of the project. Admittance to the PhD programme will be based on the research proposal.
Your application must include:
- A cover letter including a brief account of your research interests and motivation for applying for the position (1-2 pages).
- Project proposal (4 pages max, bibliography excluded – i.e. 4 pages of text + bibliography).
- The names and contact information for two reference persons. One of them must be the main advisor for the master’s thesis or equivalent thesis
- CV
- Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
- Relevant certificates/references
- A list of academic publications (if relevant)
- Academic work that you want to submit for assessment as part of your application (including your master’s thesis or equivalent)
- If you have a master’s degree from an institution outside of the Nordic countries, or a 2-year discipline- based master’s degree (or the equivalent) in a subject area other than the one associated with the application, you may later in the application process be asked to submit an overview of the syllabus for the degree you have completed.
The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge following the link on this page marked “Apply for this job”.
Closing date: October 31, 2022. The application has to be marked: 2022/14755.
Applications submitted without a project description or applications sent as e-mails will not be considered. Only submitted documents will be subjected to an expert assessment.
General information:
Additional information about the position is obtainable by contacting the SANE-Clim PI, Michaël Tatham – michael.tatham@uib.no
Practical questions regarding the application procedures should be directed to Adviser – HR, Gudrun Horvei – Gudrun.horvei@uib.no
Appointed PhD fellows will be admitted to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Questions about the programme may be directed to Adviser-PhD: Hanne.Gravermoen@uib.no.
The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. It is also a goal to recruit people with immigrant backgrounds. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.
The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.
Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.
The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.
For further information about the recruitment process, click here.
Life as a PhD candidate at UiB
Marion Claireaux tells about life and work as a PhD candidate at UiB.
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About UiB
The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad.
There are seven departments at Faculty of Social Sciences. Read more about the faculty and departments.