PhD Fellowships in Political Communication

Center for Statecraft and Political Communication
and the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy

Background

The Center for Statecraft and Political Communication (CSPC), located at the Department for Marketing and Strategy at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), is pleased to announce fellowships for three incoming PhD students wishing to pursue scholarly research in historically informed statecraft and political communication. In addition to being part of SSE, the PhD fellows will join an international consortium, the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy (AJI). The other members of AJI are the Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit, the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, the Centre for Grand Strategy in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, and Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

Incoming PhD students will work closely with the affiliates of CSPC as well as being given opportunities to participate in the Center’s activities and the broader intellectual community of SSE. They will also collaborate with faculty, affiliates, students, and fellows from the other institutes in the consortium, creating a multi-institutional, multi-national intellectual community that spans the Atlantic.

All research proposals relating to a historically informed understanding of political communication in statecraft will be considered. CSPC envisions research projects in subfields such as propaganda, rhetoric, public diplomacy, political campaigns, the political communication of non-state actors, strategic narratives, as well as the technological, regulatory, and economic dimensions of communications. In addition, research projects relating economic history to statecraft will also be considered.

Requirements

We are looking for candidates with a passion for knowledge and a strong commitment to pursue postgraduate studies. In addition to being qualified and well-motivated, candidates should be able to work independently and with others. Knowledge of Swedish or another Nordic language is a merit. Fellowships are open to candidates with a master’s degree who meet Stockholm School of Economics’ requirements for doctoral students in business administration. A generic requirement is that applicants should have 90 ECTS credits in business administration. Candidates who can show the necessary ability to complete the program with similar academic merits (such as a master’s degree in political science, history, sociology or economics) will be considered. See https://www.hhs.se/en/education/phd/business-administration/.

Terms

The three fully funded doctoral positions/scholarships cover four years (240 ECTS) and the work is mainly located at CSPC’s premises at Stockholm School of Economics.

Admitted PhD students receive a scholarship from CSPC, and are guaranteed funding throughout the PhD program, conditional upon satisfactory performance as determined by the supervisors. The current tax-exempt scholarship amount is SEK 21 000 per month. In addition, CSPC will provide a yearly insurance amounting to SEK 65 000 that shall cover potential sick- or parental leave.

Application

Applicants shall register through SSE’s web-based application system for PhD-candidates in Business Administration. The application period is open from 1 December 2021 until 1 February 2022. Please choose the specialization in Marketing and Strategy to apply for this position and mention CSPC in your statement of purpose.

https://www.hhs.se/en/education/phd/business-administration/admission/.

Expressions of interest must also have been received by CSPC no later than 1 February 2022 (preferably earlier) and must contain a personal letter in which the research interests and an idea for the doctoral project are described. This should be sent to rikard.westerberg@hhs.se. Questions concerning the application process can be sent to info@hhs.se. Suitable candidates will be interviewed during the spring.

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