Disinformation & Democracy    

Democratic and electoral processes are highly dependent on information. The digital transformation has significantly changed the flow of information. Political campaigning and advertising, for instance, are moving to digital platforms and social media that are less regulated than traditional forms of information exchange, leading to information bubbles, disinformation and misinformation. In the first decades of the digital transformation, the prevailing view was that the digital world should not be publicly regulated, and the preference was for private or self-regulation. This is now changing: especially in Europe, there is an attempt to bring the digital world under control of ‘the public’ and to ‘constitutionalize’ the digital world. Part of this broad trend is an attempt to tackle disinformation and misinformation online. There are many challenges involved, from the interaction between different levels and types of regulation (public and private, national and supranational), to the complex question on how to ensure an adequate balancing of conflicting fundamental rights and interests (e.g. freedom of expression, freedom of information) and the general interest (safeguarding democracy) involved. The Faculty of Law will explore how these challenges can legally be dealt with.

Within the Faculty of Law, we would like to invite you to contribute to this topic by replying to this vacancy. As of 1 September 2022, we are looking for a postdoctoral researcher (Researcher 3, minimum 0.8 fte) and two assistant professors (UD2, minimum 0.8 fte). The postdoc position is entirely focused on research, while the two assistant professors will engage in both teaching and research.

• expertise in (Dutch, European and/or comparative) constitutional law and a keen interest in the functioning of democracy in a digital society;

• PhD degree in law or a related field;

• excellent research skills, preferably as shown in peer reviewed publications;
• excellent organisational skills;
• fluency in spoken and written English at an academic level;
• being able to work both independently as well as in a team, with a solution-oriented attitude and a healthy dose of academic curiosity.

Additional job requirements for the assistant professor:

• experience in academic teaching;
• having obtained the Basic Teaching Qualification (BKO) or be willing to obtain this BKO soon;
• the ability to teach in Dutch is strongly preferred but is not a formal requirement.

• A salary initially based on scale 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities depending on qualifications and work experience (minimum € 3.974 and maximum € 5.439 gross per month for a full-time job). An 8% holiday and an 8.3% year-end allowance is also provided;
• The position for the post-doc is a one-year contract. The position for the UD is initially for 18 months with the intention of converting this into an employment contract for an indefinite period;
• Attractive employment conditions, which include a pension scheme, holidays, holiday allowance and an end of year bonus.
• A pleasant, informal working environment with room for everyone's talent. You will work within a new and stimulating team with many possibilities for development.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > About UM > Working at UM.

Maastricht University

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 22,000 students and about 5,000 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

The Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law of Maastricht University provides challenging and high-quality legal education for Bachelor's and Master's students. The faculty is a pioneer in small-scale and innovative education and trains lawyers for both the national and international labor market. The faculty is in the top 3 of law schools in the EU and, with 51% foreign students, is the most international law faculty in Europe. It has 3000 students and more than 300 employees. Maastricht University provides you a unique international experience in a Dutch city.

The Faculty of Law is actively contributing to research for the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Sector Plan on Education, Citizenship and Democracy in Digital Societies.