The PhD researchers will be part of the project “Who opposes? Explaining government-opposition cooperation in parliament and its consequences for democratic legitimacy” hosted at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University. The main objectives of this project are to measure and explain government-opposition cooperation in parliament and to study its consequences for democratic legitimacy and vote choice. The analysis focuses on four country cases: the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark and Canada.

One PhD researcher will work on the sub project ‘Explanations of government-opposition cooperation’, which involves the analysis of large-N parliamentary data as well as interviews with political elites in the four country cases. This researcher will be supervised by the project leader, Dr. Tom Louwerse, and Prof.dr. Petr Kopecky.

The other PhD researcher will work on the sub project ‘The effect of government-opposition cooperation on democratic legitimacy’. In this project existing survey and turnout data is analysed and the researcher will conduct a survey experiment in the four countries. This researcher will be supervised by the project leader, Dr. Tom Louwerse, and Prof.dr. Joop van Holsteyn. 

Candidates are asked to please specify whether they are applying for both projects, or have a preference for one of the two. As part of the position of PhD researcher, candidates will receive PhD research training. Candidates will be expected to teach two courses per year, usually as tutorial instructor.

• A (research) master’s degree in political science or in a relevant discipline, or be near completing one;
• Prior training in and a good command of quantitative research methods and statistics;
• Strong affiliation with the project theme and are motivated to do political science research;
• Good command of English. A working understanding of the Dutch and/or Danish language is an advantage.

The position preferably starts on 1 September 2020. We offer a full-time position for initially one year. After a positive evaluation of the progress of the thesis, personal capabilities and compatibility the appointment will be extended by a further three years. Salary range from €2,325 to €2,972  gross per month (pay scale P in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities).

Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3 %), training and career development. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses we have set up a dual career programme. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. For more information, see our employment conditions.

Leiden University

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences comprises four institutes: education and child studies, political science, psychology and cultural anthropology & development sociology. The faculty also includes the Centre for Science and Technology Studies. The faculty is home to 5,000 students and 600 members of staff. Our teaching and research programmes cover diverse topics varying from adoption to political behaviour.

The Institute of Political Science has a strong research tradition in various areas of comparative, Dutch and international politics, as well as political theory. The Institute has around 80 academic staff, including many non-Dutch scholars, and houses a number of editorships of international refereed journals and book series. Members of the institute are also involved in a number of the university’s multi-disciplinary research centres, including central and east European studies, international relations, political parties and representation, and political philosophy. The Institute is based in Leiden but a large and growing part of the teaching is done nearby in The Hague.

The PhD candidates will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, which offers PhD support and training.