The research mission of Tilburg Law School (TLS) is to understand and improve the role of law in tackling societal problems now and in the future, particularly those connected with globalization and rapid economic, social, cultural and technological change. Research within Tilburg Law School is conducted in an organization that fosters diversity. Internationalization and interdisciplinarity have become core characteristics of Tilburg Law School’s research. The TLS-research is organized in four signature plans: Connecting Organizations, Global Law & Governance, Regulating Socio-Technical Change, and Law and Security.

Law and Security
Security is often associated with national security, war and military action. In the Signature Plan Law & Security we narrow our focus to issues regarding ‘subversive crime’.   The concept of subversive crime (‘ondermijning’) points at illegal activities that seriously disrupt the integrity of social and economic life and of financial and tackling institutions, but it may also refer to degradation of democratic and societal values and the environment. Subversive crime is not limited to organised crime, but also encompasses financial-economic crimes connected to social and fiscal regulation, committed by ‘respected’ upper world actors and corporate criminals in particular.

Impacts of subversive crime are distributed unevenly across societies. Residents of socially and economically deprived neighbourhoods, un(der)employed persons, undocumented migrants, people in precarious work situations and asylum seekers are more likely to become victims of subversive crime, but are also at a greater risk of being recruited into criminal networks. Furthermore, it becomes increasingly clear that subversive crime is not just an urban problem, but also seriously affects rural regions albeit in a different way. Finally, some countries such as the Netherlands have a highly efficient infrastructure for instance for import and export; information and communication technology, and fiscal and financial transactions, which criminals may misuse to facilitate their subversive activities. From a theoretical perspective, it is insufficient to focus solely on the characteristics of villains and victims, their immediate environment, and on criminal business processes and how to tackle these. Systemic drivers of subversive crime, such as power differences and societal inequalities, as well as actors involved in reducing these problems: enforcement agencies, NGOs and societal groups, also need to be addressed. 

Building on these considerations, the Research Program Law & Security revolves around the following three interrelated themes: 

1. Understanding and tackling the problem of subversive crime 
2. Understanding and tackling recruitment for subversive crime.
3. Understanding and tackling the infrastructures that facilitate subversive crime.

We invite candidates with a legal or socio-legal background to submit a research proposal on an innovative topic related to one or more of the three subthemes. Your application needs to be supported by the potential supervisor; a professor or associate professor employed at Tilburg Law School.  
More information about the signature plan and the procedure can be found here.

PhD researchers at TLS generally work four days per week (0.8 fte) on their research, while one day a week (0.2 fte) is dedicated to education or other tasks for the department. 

Tilburg University believes that academic excellence is achieved through the combination of outstanding research and education, in which social impact is made by sharing knowledge. In doing so, we recognize that excellence is not only achieved through individual performance, but mostly through team effort in which each team member acts as a leader connecting people. 

You are:

• An outstanding student with an excellent command of English. 
• Have completed (or will complete by the end of August) a Master in Law or a Master in adjacent fields such as Law and Economics, Law and Technology or Politics and Public Administration.
• Have a strong interest in doing research and are able to clearly formulate views, ideas and concepts based upon complex information, as well as construct conceptual frameworks or models. 
• Have excellent writing and presentation skills, you can easily transfer your conducted knowledge to different target groups.
• Good planning and organizing skills and able to plan activities and set goals and priorities. Finally, you are flexible, proactive, and able to work both independently and as part of a team. You are willing to contribute to the research community within our Law School.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment. We believe flexibility, development, and good employee benefits are very important. We make clear agreements on career paths and offer all kinds of facilities and schemes to maintain an optimum balance between work and private life. Tilburg University fosters diversity and inclusion; that is why we pursue an active policy for inclusive teams where diverse talents can flourish.

The starting gross salary is €2,434 per month (full time) based on scale P of the Collective Labor Agreement Dutch Universities. Employees recruited from abroad may be eligible for the 30% tax facility- this means that 30% of your salary will be paid as a tax-free reimbursement.

The total duration of the PhD trajectory is four years (48 months). The candidate will initially be appointed for a fixed period of 16 months. After 12 months, an evaluation will take place. If the performance evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended for the remaining period of 32 months.
You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross yearly income. If you work 40 hours per week, you receive 41 days of paid recreational leave per year.

Please visit Working at Tilburg University for more information on our employment conditions. 

Tilburg University

Under the motto of ‘Understanding society’, Tilburg University’s more than 1,500 employees develop knowledge, transfer it to others, and bring people from various disciplines and organizations together. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. Our focus areas are economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, the humanities and digital sciences, and theology. Tilburg University is internationally known for its high standards in education and scientific research, as well as its good support facilities. The Tilburg University campus offers both quietness and connectivity as it is located in a wooded park, ten minutes away from the city center, main highways, and railways. A mid-sized city of 200,000 inhabitants in the South of the Netherlands, and in proximity to cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and London, Tilburg is situated at the very heart of Western Europe. 

Tilburg Law School

Tilburg Law School offers highly ranked national and international education and research in law and public administration. Currently, almost 4,000 students are enrolled at Tilburg Law School. Students in Tilburg can choose from five Bachelor's programs, one of which is taught in English (Bachelor Global Law) and ten Master's programs, eight of which are taught in English. The international orientation of Tilburg Law School is reflected in these Bachelor's and Master's programs. The research conducted within Tilburg Law School is aimed at social relevance and provides students with the tools and skills to study and deal with current issues at an academic level.