PRR Project

Summary

This position aims to develop research activities in issues relating to International History, Populism, challenges to democracy. Candidate will be hired as an Assistant Researcher and should demonstrate robust scientific background and expertise in interdisciplinary research specializing in international history, populism, challenges to and erosion of democratic regimes. The responsibilities to be assigned to the selected researcher encompass the following aspects: to apply to competitive national and international funding opportunities; carrying out research projects and studies; to produce high-quality research outputs and to contribute and participate in the international policy agenda; to identify and participate in key international networks relevant to CEI-Iscte; publish and supervise theses and dissertations; lead and establish partnerships and institutional collaborations on the topics and scientific fields indicated above. Additionally, it is expected that the dissemination of results occurs strategically, both at national and international levels: facilitating knowledge exchange and fostering engagement with civil society, identifying main stakeholders, and establishing collaborations to enhance the communication of findings to target audiences. This topics are central to the Research Unit’s strategy: to investigate and understand the root causes of declining trust in politics, reduced political participation, and incongruence in representational preferences between elites and voters within the context of representative democracy; to contribute for the development of strategies to counteract the negative impacts of civil society transformations, rising populism, and disinformation; to foster active involvement of the civil society in democratic decision-making, promote transparency in political representation, understand the underlying factors and explain the impact of recent trends in political participation, partisanship, populism, and social inequality on the quality and performance of representative democracies through qualitative and quantitative comparative studies. This research is also paramount within the Associated Laboratory of Iscte: SocioDigital Lab for Public Policy and Technology (SDLab), as it will contribute to build capabilities to support resilient and more stable societies and develop more comprehensive approaches to those global challenges, as it is clear from the objectives associated with its Thematic Line “Global Governance”. This role is based on the institution´s commitment to advancing knowledge, promoting interdisciplinary research, and contribute to the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategic plans and policies on security-related areas and produce strategic foresight on key global trends. CEI-Iscte can complement its broader mission and actively impact and participate in addressing pressing global challenges of the 21st Century.