We are looking for a Postdoctoral researcher for this innovative and challenging project. You will lead the implementation of the Indian part of this project, together with principal investigator Ward Berenschot (senior researcher KITLV and professor in comparative political anthropology, University of Amsterdam). You will train and supervise research teams in India, supervise the execution of a candidate survey as well as engage in extensive fieldwork during the time of elections (i.e. Dec-Feb 2024). You will also take the lead in writing publications and organizing the dissemination of research findings. You will be based at KITLV, while this position also involves spending extensive periods of time in Indonesia in the months leading up to the elections. Depending on your situation, this could mean staying in India during the first six to eight months.

Requirements

• You have a PhD degree in social sciences.
• You also have proven affinity with both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• You are capable in organizing and leading research projects with multiple researchers and collaborations.
• You have a cooperative nature and very good verbal and written communication skills.
• You are experienced and skilled in intercultural communication and research.
• We expect a record of independent academic publication in a relevant field of research, commensurate with your career stage.
• Thorough knowledge of, and experience in, studying politics and societies of India is desirable.
• Proficiency in speaking Hindi is desirable.

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is € 3.413 and the maximum salary is € 4.123 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 10 cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

KITLV

About the KITLV
The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV-KNAW) is an Academy research institute. The KITLV conducts interdisciplinary and comparative historical research. Its research focus is Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on Indonesia and the 'Dutch' Caribbean. It is particularly interested in such issues as state formation, violence and citizenship, processes of mobility and the formation of ethnic and national identity. KITLV is active in the humanities, social sciences and comparative area studies and works closely with Leiden University.

Costs of Democracy: The Political Economy of Campaign Finance

Expensive elections campaigns are a threat to democracies around the world, because they generate corruption and political inequality. Yet, due to methodological obstacles and a western bias in the current literature, we do not really know what makes election campaigns expensive. To do so this project adopts a new methodology that combines up-close candidate shadowing with candidate surveys. Ethnographic studies on election campaigns across India and Indonesia - two large democracies in the global south representing different electoral systems - will identify drivers of campaign expenditures, while candidate surveys will serve to engage in quantitative analysis of within-country variation. With this hitherto unavailable data this project aims to help reduce the role of money in elections to healthier levels. For more information on the project, see kitlv.nl.