PhD researcher on Bosnia and Herzegovina

NSCR is looking for a PhD researcher

We are looking for a PhD researcher to work in a collaborative research project on intergenerational transmission of psycho-social legacies of war and the role of criminal trials therein, with a focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Project

The 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the most violent conflicts which took place on the European soil following World War II. During the armed conflict, more than 36 000 civilians were killed, an estimated 20 000 to 50 000 women were (systematically) raped or sexually enslaved, thousands detained and tortured, more than 2 million people were displaced. The numbers alone, as overwhelming as they are, however do not and cannot capture the legacies of these atrocities. Since transitioning to peace in 1995 Bosnia has been dealing with the violent past by implementing various mechanisms of transitional justice. One of the main transitional justice mechanisms adopted in Bosnia were criminal trials – be it at the the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, which dealt with a limited number of those deemed ‘the most responsible’, or at domestic courts, which have prosecuted thousands of cases so far.

While the war reminders in Bosnia are still omnipresent almost 30 years after its end, its psycho-social intergenerational legacies and the ways how criminal trials shaped such legacies remain largely unknown. In this project you will explore individual- and family-level intergenerational transmission of psycho-social legacies of the Bosnian war and the role transitional trials play in such transmission.

The project is part of a larger interdisciplinary research, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), exploring how legacies of mass violence transfer across generations, and what role transitional justice mechanisms, such as criminal trials and lustrations/vetting, play in such intergenerational transmission. Using mixed methods analysis (surveys, interviews) this interdisciplinary project focuses on two case studies of countries, which both experienced mass violence and implemented various transitional justice mechanisms to deal with the violent past: Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic.

Phd Researcher on Bosnia and Herzegovina

In order to explore long-term consequence of the war and the role of criminal trials in shaping such legacies, we are looking for a a highly motivated and talented PhD researcher who will join our team. The candidate should have a (almost) finished (Research) Master degree in any of the following: (Legal) Psychology, (International) Criminology, Conflict Studies, Transitional Justice, Sociology or another field of Social Science. As you will be interacting with a large variety of individuals, strong communicative skills and the ability to connect with different target groups are important for this project. Moreover, considering the multidisciplinary nature of the project, you need to be open, curious and determined in pursuing different fields of research, have a proven interest in studying mass violence and/or transitional justice, and an experience, or openness to learn, qualitative and quantitative empirical methods, such as interviews and surveys.  A basic knowledge of criminal law is welcome. Finally, because of the international character of the project and the nature of the envisaged fieldwork, a candidate should not only speak and write fluent English, but also be fluent in Bosnian/Croat/Serbian language.

The candidate will cooperate with the rest of the team and use and adjust an original survey to gauge legacies of mass violence and role of criminal trials and conduct interviews among Bosnian families. They will present their findings at academic conferences and in international peer reviewed journals.

• (Research) Master degree in (Legal) Psychology, (International) Criminology, Conflict Studies, Transitional Justice, Sociology or another field of Social Science.

• Have a proven interest in studying mass violence and/or transitional justice.

• Have experience with (or proven knowledge of) qualitative and quantitative research methods  and at least basic knowledge of (or interest to learn) fundaments of criminal law.

• Have an active interest in conducting scientific research, illustrated, for instance, by previously published papers or excellent results for papers written during the master phase (e.g. the master thesis).

• Have an excellent command of both English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (both speaking, reading and writing).
• More generally, we are looking for an enthusiastic young researcher with strong analytical and communication skills, who can work independently, and who is open and curious.

You will be appointed at NSCR. You will first receive a contract for the period of one year. If you perform well it will be extended for three extra years.

The starting salary for the first year is currently € 2781,- gross a month and will be up to a maximum of € 3562,- gross per month.

You will also receive an end-of-year bonus of 8.33% and a holiday allowance of 8%. Click here for more information about our employment conditions.

NSCR is a leading research institute, based in Amsterdam, which is dedicated to fundamental scientific research in the field of crime and law enforcement. It is part of the institutes organization (NWO-I), which belongs to the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). NSCR is a lively (inter)national research community where high-quality, socially relevant research is conducted in a stimulating multidisciplinary environment.

The proposed project will be embedded in the NSCR’s Research Group IV that focuses on how society responds to crime and as such the project will contribute to research on societal reconstruction after mass violence. Members of this Research Group meet on a regular basis and the PhD researcher, together with the other members of the team, will be actively engaged within this group.