Period of Contract 
1 SEPTEMBER 2023 –AUGUST 2027 

Activity Rate 
100% (80% on the PhD project and 20% on common project related tasks)  

Application Deadline

15 May 2023 

Terms of Contract 
The appointed PhD student is guaranteed to receive salary during the contract period in addition to all the benefits accrued to the employees in the SNF division 1 scheme.  

This project investigates social and political consequences of structural labor market changes in Korea and China and ways to promote social cohesion. There are growing conversations about the role of social and cultural factors in making sense of the political consequences of trade and automation in advanced industrial countries. Both Korea and China are undergoing rapid structural labor market changes due to automation, deindustrialization, and economic slowdown, but our understanding of their social and political implications is still limited. Instead of looking at the relationship from a material perspective, this project engages with the influence of social and cultural norms and their interplay with emotional mechanisms. It uses gendered social conflicts as a case to examine the broader question, and aims to extend the implications to other areas of social conflict. The project is interdisciplinary and draws from political science, sociology, psychology, and management/organizational studies. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses will be conducted.  

General description of the position

The appointed PhD student will work closely with the project’s Principal Investigator, Sungmin Rho, Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations and Political Science. The candidate is expected to integrate fully in the life of the IRPS department and successfully complete the department’s doctoral coursework. The candidate is expected to work on a PhD project that aligns closely with the broader theme of this research project. For additional information about the IRPS doctoral program, please consult the website. Due to the SNSF regulations, the candidate’s research interests need to align closely to the broader theme of the research project. 

To be successful in this role, the following skills and interests are expected
 

• MA in Political Science or relevant disciplines (e.g. sociology, social psychology, international affairs, development studies, Asian studies) 
• Excellent written and oral communication in English
• Fluency in Korean and/or Mandarin 
• Willingness to take on an independent project 
• Knowledge and experience in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods 
• Interest and/or experience in fieldwork research 
• Willingness to engage with interdisciplinary and multi-method research  
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with others.
   

What you can expect
 

• Salary and other welfare benefits in line with the SNSF range for doctoral researchers
• Development of an independent dissertation that contributes centrally to the project
• Have the opportunity to travel for their research to relevant field sites (Korea and/or China)
• Opportunity to participate in project related activities such as international and European conferences and workshops 
   

Dossier and admission process

Please include the following in your application:

• CV
• Diplomas, Grade transcript, and sample writing (Master dissertation or equivalent)
• Cover Letter / Letter of Motivation
• A proposed PhD Project Description of 3-4000 words, with discussion of how the proposal connects to the project theme (see project description here)
• The name of two references, who may be contacted in case of shortlisting.

Interested candidates should send their application to democracy@graduateinstitute.ch