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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.
Fixed-term contract: 1 year.
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!
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