Postdoctoral Fellowships in Political Communication

Background

The newly founded 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 two two-year postdoctoral fellows wishing to pursue scholarly research in historically informed statecraft and political communication. CSPC will be the Nordic center for these subjects. In addition to being part of SSE, the postdoctoral fellows will join an international consortium, the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy (AJI). The other members of the 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.

About the position

Incoming postdoctoral fellows will work closely with the affiliates of CSPC as well as be 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 community that spans the Atlantic, as well as have publishing opportunities through Engelsberg Ideas (https://engelsbergideas.com).

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 linking statecraft to economic history, media history, and geoeconomics will be considered. CSPC’s postdoctoral researchers are expected to complete a two-year research project. This can be a series of peer-reviewed articles or a book project.

Successful candidates will potentially be teaching courses on all educational levels (BSc, MSc and PhD). Besides working on the research project and teaching we also see that an important part of this role is to engage in various outreach activities like research conferences.

Requirements

• Candidates must, at the time of assuming the position, hold a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline such as business administration, economics, history, political science, or communication studies. The Ph.D must have been obtained within the last three years.
• The successful candidates have a promising research record as evidenced by previous publications.
• Documented teaching effectiveness as indicated by teaching evaluations, letters of recommendations and/or peer reviews.
• Candidates should demonstrate an ability and willingness to undertake administrative tasks and contribute to the intellectual life of the department and the school at large.

Meritorious

• Experience from teaching at both bachelor, master, and PhD level, designing courses and coaching student projects.
• Experience from teaching relevant courses.
• Good knowledge of one or more of the Nordic countries. If you for example have lived in any of the Nordic countries and are familiar with the culture, language and history that is a plus.
• Engagement in outreach activities (business and society) is a merit.

To be successful in this role we see that candidates need to show a good ability to collaborate and socialize in various settings since the position involves contact with stakeholders in a range of settings.

Terms

The two fully funded postdoctoral positions cover two years and the work is mainly located at CSPC’s premises at Stockholm School of Economics. Scholarships can be prolonged (maximum six months) if the recipients conduct work for CSPC or AJI, for instance as lecturers or as project managers.

Admitted postdoctoral fellows receive a yearly scholarship from CSPC. The current tax-exempt scholarship amount is SEK 35 000 per month. In addition, CSPC will provide a yearly insurance amounting to SEK 90 000 that shall cover potential sick- or parental leave. Costs for conference participation, travel to our partner universities and necessary literature will be covered by CSPC up to a certain limit as decided by the center director.

Admitted fellows are expected to start sometime between March and September 2022.

Application

The formal application is made via our online platform https://jobs.hhs.se/job-vacancies. To be considered for the position, please submit:

1. A cover letter articulating your qualifications and fit with the position, including research interests and a statement of the research plan. The letter should describe how your work fits within CSPC and AJI.
2. A curriculum vitae (including previous and present employment and academic background).
3. A separate document listing published articles, books, or book chapters (if any), articles submitted to journals, and working papers (with status indication). Papers enclosed with the application should be marked with an asterisk (*).
4. Copies of representative research (PDF).
5. Copies of teaching evaluations, letters of recommendations and/or peer reviews or other documents that can verify teaching effectiveness.
6. Degrees and diplomas, certificates, or other documents (copy of degree certificates, etc.).
7. Name and contact information for three references.

Your application must be received by Monday, January 17, 2022.

Postdoctoral positions are in general intended for recent PhD graduates. We primarily look for candidates with a degree from the last three years; we will of course consider extended timelines due to circumstances such as military duty, parental leave or similar.

Inquiries

For additional information, please contact Rikard Westerberg, Center Director Rikard.Westerberg@hhs.se or Edvin Stenmark, HR Business Partner Edvin.Stenmark@hhs.se.

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