ERC Studentships on 'Justice Interactions and Peacebuilding'

The project entitled “Justice Interactions and Peacebuilding:  From Static to Dynamic Discourses across National, Ethnic, Gender and Age Groups” offers an exciting opportunity for two outstanding graduates to join a major research project, funded by the European Research Council, and as part of the conventional track for MRes/PhD in Political Science at LSE. 

The project will investigate how people interact with each other in response to the practice of post-conflict justice across national, ethnic, gender and age groups in different deliberative domains. 

The successful candidates will be a part of a multi-disciplinary team comprised of senior and post-doctoral researchers. They will benefit from training opportunities and participation in workshops and other events over the course of the research project. 

The project team will be based in the Department of Government, and will collaborate with the Department of Methodology, the Department of Gender Studies and the Centre for Women, Peace and Security. 

We are seeking prospective candidates with an interest in post-conflict transitional justice, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, political communication, identity politics, political psychology, or international law. 

While the precise topic of research may be adjusted to the interests and expertise of the successful candidate, they will be expected to contribute to the broader research agenda through a focus on communication inside international war crimes trials and in response to them. Applicants are requested to contribute their own provisional research ideas in the form of a proposal as part of their application. The proposal should not exceed 3,000 words. This project will have quantitative text analysis at its core, which may be complemented with other quantitative and qualitative methods. The primary data of this research will be the transcripts (in the English language) of the trials and other documents produced during the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague (1993-2017).

Requirements: 

1)      The minimum entry requirements for the MRes/PhD in Political Science are a very good undergraduate degree (2:1 or above) and preferably an MA or MSc degree in Political Science, Social Science Methods or a closely related discipline. We do not require any GRE/GMAT scores.  English language requirements are set out here

2)      excellent knowledge of and skills in quantitative research methods

3)      interest in computer-assisted text analysis and/or computational linguistics.

While the precise topic of research may be adjusted to the interests and expertise of the successful candidate, they will be expected to contribute to the broader research agenda through a focus on discursive interactions and women’s agency in shaping policies and politics surrounding the issue of redress and justice for war-time sexual and gender-based violence in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Applicants are requested to contribute their own provisional research ideas in the form of a proposal as part of their application. The proposal should not exceed 3,000 words. This project will have qualitative discourse analysis at its core, and may be complemented with other qualitative and quantitative methods. The candidate will be expected to conduct fieldwork.

Requirements:

1)      The minimum entry requirements for the MRes/PhD in Political Science are a very good undergraduate degree (2:1 or above) and preferably an MA or MSc degree in Political Science or a closely related discipline. We do not require any GRE/GMAT scores. English language requirements are set out here

2)      excellent knowledge of qualitative research methods

3)      native speaker-level proficiency in Albanian and/or Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian

The scholarships are 4 years full time, covering UK/EU fees (or an equivalent contribution towards fees for international students), and a living allowance of £18,000 each year. The start date is 1 September 2018.

Prospective candidates are welcome to contact the Principal Investigator Dr Denisa Kostovicova at d.kostovicova@lse.ac.uk for further information about the project in advance of submitting applications.

Please read the information regarding the application process before starting your application. You need to supply all supporting documents via our online application, including: 

• Transcripts of your previous study
• CV
• personal statement
• research proposal
• a sample of your written work.

You should also nominate two academic referees using the system; they will be able to upload their letters of reference directly. 

This is done via LSE's online application system for admission.   

You should select M1ZO MRes/PhD in Political Science -- Justice Interactions and Peacebuilding Project ONLY as your first choice programme. Once we process your application, you will be able to track the progress of your application online.

Deadline for application: 26 April 2018

Short-listed candidates will be interviewed in person at LSE or remotely via Skype in May 2018 and results will be notified shortly thereafter. The successful candidates will be expected to start in September 2018.