Could a lack of a sense of belonging cause a decline of democracy? As a postdoc, you will for instance aim to answer this question by modeling the decline of democracy in a setting with right- and left-wing radicals who amplify a lacking sense of belonging. This will help deepen our understanding of protectionism, populism or political polarisation, or suggest policies to prevent the decline of democracy.

We are looking for an academic who is willing to engage with the work of the Radboud University Centre for Analytical Modelling (2/3 of your duties) and teach mathematics-oriented courses at the Economics Department (1/3 of your duties).

RUCAM started out with two initial projects. One project is based on Benedict Anderson's (1983) idea of imagined communities, i.e. the human desire to find a sense of belonging. Wintrobe (2019) argues that essentially 'all' causes for the decline of democracy can be traced back to a lack of such a sense of belonging. The idea is to model the decline of democracy, possibly by extending an already sophisticated model by Svolik (2018), in a setting with right and left wing radicals who amplify a lacking sense of belonging (stemming from, for instance, globalisation or migration shock). The analysis may, on the one hand, help deepen our understanding of current political phenomena such as protectionism, populism or political polarisation in connection with, for instance, Brexit or Donald Trump; and, on the other hand, it may suggest appropriate policies to prevent the decline of democracy.

Part of your task will be to help characterise appropriate model assumptions, levels of abstraction and techniques. This is important because approaches, techniques and results of the aforementioned projects will then be showcased at seminars, with the idea of attracting researchers from other disciplines such as healthcare, cognitive neuroscience, sensorimotor control research, linguistics or (neuro)psychology, where similar or different modelling techniques are applied. You should also expect to participate in the preparation of international conferences aimed at bringing together scientists who use analytical modelling techniques. You will also have teaching duties and may have to participate in developing analytical modelling modules.

For a list of current projects, please consult our website: www.rucam.nl.

• You hold a PhD in Mathematics, Physics or Engineering.
• You possibly hold a Social Sciences or Humanities degree.
• Academic excellence, as demonstrated by PhD thesis, publications, grade transcripts and CV is required.
• You have expertise in some of the following fields: optimisation, game theory, stochastic analysis and dynamical systems.
• You have the ability to communicate mathematical techniques to non-mathematicians and to translate real world phenomena into mathematical language.
• You show a willingness to organise international seminars, to undertake teaching duties - including developing teaching modules - and to perform administrative duties.
• You have an excellent command of written and spoken English.
• You have the ability to work independently and in close cooperation with other members of the research project team.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

• Employment for 0.75 FTE.
• The gross monthly salary amounts to a minimum of €3,807 and a maximum of €5,211 based on a 38-hour working week, depending on previous education and number of years of relevant work experience (salary scale 11).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• It concerns a temporary employment for one year.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

The Nijmegen School of Management (NSM) is an academic centre of research and higher education, focusing on institutional and managerial issues within complex organisations. There are seven disciplines within NSM: Business Administration, Public Administration, Political Science, Economics and Business Economics, Social and Political Sciences of the Environment, Human Geography, and Spatial Planning. NSM strives for a multidisciplinary approach. The educational programme is characterised by small-scale teaching and provides a stimulating learning environment with an emphasis on the development of academic skills. NSM employs 330 FTEs, 75% of whom are academics. Currently, NSM has approximately 5,000 students. NSM's research activities fall under the responsibility of the interdisciplinary Institute for Management Research (IMR). Under the motto 'Creating Knowledge for Society', IMR focuses on academic research into the development, design and effectiveness of the public and private structures that regulate, govern or manage human interactions. 

You will join NSM's Economics Department. The project, however, is embedded in the Radboud University Centre for Analytical Modelling in Social Sciences and Humanities (RUCAM), where researchers from different faculties work with analytical models. This initiative will allow them to cooperate in an interfaculty centre for analytical modelling. RUCAM facilitates the discussion of modelling choices and conceptual issues and the exchange of theoretical frameworks as well as the development of new interdisciplinary consortia. It focuses on the understanding of human behaviour, social interaction and real world phenomena, and its output will lead to concrete policy recommendations in such diverse areas as democracy, unconditional basic income, healthcare and neuroscience.

Radboud University
We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!