Early-stage Researcher

Zur Verstärkung unseres Teams **in the Department for Migration and Globalisation** gelangt folgende Position zur Besetzung:
Inserat Nr. SB25-0063

Early-Stage Researcher - PhD Student (M/F/d) - Refugees’ Political Agency & State Perceptions

Ihre Aufgaben

The UWK Department for Migration and Globalisation is looking for a doctoral researcher to undertake qualitative research on refugees’ political agency and perceptions of the state. You will be part of a new European Research Council-funded project entitled ‘RESTATE: Refugees’ Political Participation and State-(Re)Making in Displacement’, led by Dr. Lea Müller-Funk.

RESTATE investigates how refugees perceive and engage with the state throughout their displacement journeys, and how these perceptions shape their roles as political actors. Centring refugees’ political agency, the project aims to: (1) provide a dynamic understanding of refugees’ experiences and interactions with the state; (2) discern which forms of state violence erode trust in state institutions and potentially incite political resistance; (3) theorise the conditions of refugees’ political participation throughout their displacement trajectories; and (4) theorise the implications of refugees’ political participation in both origin and host states for processes of ‘state-making’ - attempts to fulfil key government functions such as protection, justice, and the provision of services. Employing a comparative mixed-methods and multi-sited approach, the project studies displacement from three civil-war states (Afghanistan, South Sudan and Syria) in four major host states (Iran, Turkey, Uganda, and Germany). The project will collect a cross-national survey, life histories, online interviews, and a compilation of humorous representations of the state. The team consists of the Principal Investigator (PI), two postdoctoral researchers, a PhD researcher, a project manager, and local research assistants.

The PhD researcher will focus on the Syrian case study. There is room, within this framework, to shape the PhD project in line with your own interests. You will be conducting qualitative fieldwork in Syria (online), Istanbul (Turkey), and Berlin (Germany) together with the PI and a postdoctoral researcher. You will also draw on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to collect jokes, cartoons and other humorous representations of the state.

**Your tasks**:

- Developing a research proposal and fieldwork plan for your PhD, taking into consideration ethics and data management procedures of the university and the European Research Council.
- Planning and conducting physical qualitative fieldwork (life history interviews) in Istanbul and Berlin over a period of six months, online qualitative fieldwork (semi-directive online interviews and social media analysis).
- Writing a cumulative PhD (3 journal articles) and co-authoring 1-2 publications (e.g. working paper, Methodological Handbook chapter, journal article).
- Participating in project team meetings and research cluster meetings and contributing to the organization of events and workshops.
- Presenting work-in-progress at international workshops, conference panels, and to colleagues within the department and the university.

Ihr Profil

We are looking for someone who is excited and motivated to do a PhD project based on qualitative fieldwork in Syria, Turkey and Germany, and in a team context comparing across conflict settings.

Except for the fieldwork periods, the position requires residence in Krems or the surrounding region (e.g. Vienna).
- A completed university master’s degree in Anthropology, Geography, Sociology or in related interdisciplinary fields such as migration studies, preferably completed with distinction.
- Working knowledge of migration and/or refugee studies or experience in civil society organizations working with migrants and/or refugees.
- Previous research experience in the Global South.
- Prior knowledge about the Syrian conflict and context.
- Demonstrable experience with and passion for qualitative research methods.
- Strong analytical and writing skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work in a team and independently.
- Excellent organizational skills and motivation and ability to meet project milestones/deadlines
- Advanced English language competency (speaking and writing for academic contexts) (min. C1).
- Fluency in Levantine Arabic (min. C1).

**In addition, the following criteria are desirable**:

- A reflexive approach towards your work
- Previous experience in a research project
- Experience with biographical methods or ethnography, preferably with migrants and/or refugees
- Knowledge of quantitative methods
- Passion for and experience with mixed methods.
- Language skills in another language of the case studies of the project (Dari, Dinka, Nuer)

Ihre Perspektive

As doctoral researcher, you will be employed by the Department for Migration and Globalisation of the Universit