Vacancy: Researcher (100% - 1 year) Parliamentary Deliberation on Climate Change in the EU's Inter-Regional Relations

The United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), the Centre for EU Studies (CEUS) at Ghent University and the Institute for European Studies (IES) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel call for applications for a one-year research position. The researcher will be hired for the project ‘Parliamentary Deliberation in Inter-Regional Relations: An Analysis of Climate Change Debates in the EU’s Parliamentary Assemblies with the ACP, The Mediterranean, Latin America and The Eastern Neighbourhood Regions’. The deadline for submitting applications is 30 June 2017 (4pm).

The Position

The project aims to investigate parliamentary deliberation on climate change in the EU’s inter-regional relations with four different regions. It aims to contribute to the debate on the function and rationale of EU parliamentary diplomacy and inter-parliamentary cooperation. It focuses specifically on the deliberative function, basically involving the promotion of dialogue and mutual understanding. The four inter-regional assemblies that will be studied are

(1) the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (ACP-EU JPA),
(2) the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for Mediterranean (PA-UFM),
(3) the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EUROLAT), and
(4) the EU-Neighbourhood East Parliamentary Assembly (EURONEST).

The successful candidate will further develop the analytical framework on the quality of deliberation. Based on the advanced analytical framework the candidate will compare the quality of deliberation on climate change in the four different cases to arrive at general conclusions about parliamentary deliberation in inter-regional relations. For this purpose, the researcher will conduct interviews and document analysis. The research will result in two academic papers, a policy brief and a policy panel. The project should grow into a full PhD depending on the availability of funding.

Profile

The successful candidate is required to:

• hold a Master’s degree in political science, EU studies or international relations with excellent study results (Master students in the academic year 2016-17 can also apply).
• have a strong motivation to conduct academic research
• be fluent and have excellent communications skills in English
• be able to independently develop and conduct a research project, both substantially and practically
• be able to work in a team
• have knowledge of (the literature on) climate change policy, regionalism, parliamentary diplomacy or inter-parliamentary cooperation
• be willing to participate in academic conferences and to publish in international peer reviewed journals
• be willing to pursue a PhD

Offer

We offer a 1-year pre-doc bursary at UNU-CRIS in Bruges. Extension of contract is subject to performance and the acquisition of additional funding by the supervisors or researcher. Remuneration is at the level of a full-time research assistant at a Flemish university (i.e. approximately € 1.900 net per month) and includes contributions for social security. Secondary employment is not allowed.

The researcher will be guided by Dr. Sarah Delputte and Prof. Dr. Sebastian Oberthür. The successful candidate is expected to work at the UNU-CRIS premises in Bruges (Belgium), while keeping close ties with the CEUS in Ghent and the IES in Brussels. Office space and equipment will be provided.

How to apply

The candidate will be selected on the basis of her/his expertise, work experience and qualifications, as well as a short reflection on the research theme. The following application documents are to be consolidated (in the same order as listed below) into a single PDF file sent by email to jobs@cris.unu.edu (subject heading: ‘UNU-CRIS Application Parliamentary Deliberation on Climate Change’).

1. A filled out UNU-CRIS application form
2. A curriculum vitae listing all academic qualifications, relevant research experience and previous publications
3. A one-page motivation letter explaining the candidate’s interest in pursuing this research task, and possibly a PhD on the topic
4. Contact details of two references
5. A critical reflection on the research theme (no more than 1500 words)
6. A copy of the highest obtained diploma and transcript of academic grades

The deadline for applications is 30 June 2017 (4pm). Short-listed candidates will be informed by 11 July 2017 and interviews with top-listed candidates are expected to take place in the week of 28 August. The successful candidate can start as of 1 October 2017 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Further information

For further inquiries on the content, please contact Sarah.Delputte@ugent.be, for administrative questions, please contact pvantorre@cris.unu.edu.