Postdoctoral position in Political Science at Aarhus University

The Department of Political Science at Aarhus University invites applications for a 2-year full-time postdoctoral position. The postdoc will work on a research project financed by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The project is entitled “Local Policy Customization in a Double Democracy” (DOUBLEDEM) and focuses on how subnational politics customizes national policies.

The project is headed by Professor Peter Bjerre Mortensen.
Starting date is 1 February 2025.

DOUBLEDEM is aimed at offering three key contributions to the literature on intergovernmental relationships:
1) a new theory on local policy customization of national policy building on the concept of customization from the EU literature;
2) a new measure of national policy to systematically map – over time and across policy areas – the demands that national regulation imposes on local governments; and
3) a new measure of local policy to empirically examine local policy customization across subnational units of governments and policy areas.

The postdoc is expected to contribute to all three parts of the project, and to be main responsible for a new measure of local policy customization. The postdoc is expected to work closely with Professor Peter Bjerre Mortensen but will also to some extent have opportunities to finish or pursue own research projects.

In addition to the outlined research tasks, the position entails teaching the equivalent of one course per year.

Your qualifications

Applicants are expected to hold (or be close to completing) a PhD in political science, preferably with a focus on central-government relationships in Denmark since the empirical case of the project is Denmark. In addition, applicants are expected to possess the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated intimate knowledge of intergovernmental research
• Demonstrated competence in and practical experience with case study research on local policy customization
• Fluency in the Danish language since much of the research will be based on process studies of Danish municipalities

Who we are

With around 130 academic staff members and 40 PhD students, the Department of Political Science is among Europe’s largest political science departments. The research at the department covers most political science disciplines, including public administration, and represents a variety of methodological approaches. We are among Europe’s highest-ranked departments, and our broad research profile enables us to focus on societal problems as they appear in the national and international political arena. This allows us to contribute actively to the development of the discipline. We offer a lively and ambitious research and teaching environment characterized by pluralism and openness. We expect active participation in the activities of the department, which includes being present at the department at least three days per week.
 
For more information about the Department of Political Science, please see here.
 
The Department of Political Science is part of Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University – a top 100 university. Aarhus BSS has achieved the triple-crown AASCB, AMBA and EQUIS accreditations.

Further information

If you have questions regarding the position, you may contact Professor Peter Bjerre Mortensen at peter@ps.au.dk.

If you need help uploading your application or have questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR supporter Line Kristiansen at lmkr@au.dk.

Place of work

Department of Political Science, Bartholins Allé 7, DK-8000 Aarhus C

International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information here:
https://internationalstaff.au.dk/relocationservice/

Please find more information about research opportunities at Aarhus University here: http://international.au.dk/research/

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here:
http://talent.au.dk/junior-researcher-development-programme/

Terms of employment

The appointment is made in accordance with the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities as well as the circular on the Collective Agreement for Academics Employed by the State (in Danish).
The job content and qualification requirements are described in further detail in the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Application procedure

When you apply for this position it is mandatory to attach the following:

• Application
• Curriculum Vitae. You are encouraged to declare any periods of leave without research activity, including, for example, maternity leave, since your research activities are assessed in relation to your actual research time
• Education (diploma for master's, PhD and possibly higher doctoral degree)
• List of publications (the enclosed publications must be clearly marked on the list of publications)
• Publications. Up to three publications can be included in the application. In the event of several authors the publications must be accompanied by a co-author statement concerning the applicant's share of the collaborative work with the consent of the co-authors. This template may be used for the purpose
• Teaching portfolio. The specific requirements regarding the documentation can be found here

Materials which cannot be uploaded together with the application may be submitted in three copies to Aarhus BSS HR & PhD, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 16, DK-8000 Aarhus C.

Read more about how to apply for an academic post at Aarhus BSS here

The evaluation process

After the application deadline, an assessment committee is appointed. Please note that the assessment of applicants is based solely on the material received prior to the application deadline. For further information, see Guidelines for Assessment Committee, Aarhus BSS.
The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.
 

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/