Dear colleagues, I am currently recruiting for a 5-year postdoctoral position (70%) at the Chair of European Studies of the University of Fribourg from 1 March 2024 or later by mutual agreement. The position entails: * Conducting independent research in the field of European Politics, preferably in the research area of the professorship (e.g. democracy and democratic backsliding, rise of populism, Euroscepticism) * Collaborating in research activities and the preparation of grant applications * Limited teaching in the MA programme on European Studies (1 course per semester) * Supervising student projects and placements at the MA level Requirements: * Doctorate/PhD (or very close to completion) in Political Science or a related discipline * Experience conducting empirical research in the area of European Politics * Excellent methodological skills; openness to quantitative and qualitative methods; experience with survey experiments desirable * High competence to work independently as well as to collaborate in a team * Proficiency in English; additional fluency in German and/or French strongly desirable What we offer: * 5-year fixed-term contract with a starting date on 1 March 2024 or later by mutual agreement * Competitive salary in accordance with remuneration regulations of the Canton of Fribourg * Flexible work arrangement alternating between presence work and mobile work * Additional funding for research activities (conference travel, methods training, data collection etc.) is available * Integration into Swiss and international networks, including the Swiss PhD Network in Democracy Studies Application: Please send your application electronically as a single pdf file to europe@unifr.ch<mailto:europe@unifr.ch>. The file should contain a motivation letter, CV, writing sample, copies of degree certificate(s), and the contact details of two people willing to serve as references. The application deadline is 24 January 2024. The full job advert is available here: https://www.unifr.ch/europastudien/fr/assets/public/Documents/Offres%20d'emploi/Postdoc%20European%20Studies%20Fribourg.pdf Please share with potential candidates and don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions. Best wishes, Natasha Prof. Dr. Natasha Wunsch Professeure ordinaire / Ordentliche Professorin Co-directrice du Centre d'études européennes / Ko-Leiterin des Zentrums für Europastudien Université de Fribourg – Freiburg Département Études européennes et slavistique Etudes européennes – bureau D429 Bvd de Pérolles 90 CH – 1700 Fribourg Recent publications: Wunsch, Natasha & Theresa Gessler (2023). Who Tolerates Democratic Backsliding? A Mosaic Approach to Voters’ Responses to Authoritarian Leadership in Hungary<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13510347.2023.2203918>, Democratization. Wunsch, Natasha & Marie-Eve Bélanger (2023). Radicalisation and discursive accommodation: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402382.2023.2202031> Responses to rising Euroscepticism in the European Parliament<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402382.2023.2202031>, West European Politics. Wunsch, Natasha & Philippe Blanchard (2023). Patterns of democratic backsliding in third-wave democracies: a sequence analysis perspective<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13510347.2022.2130260>, Democratization 30(2): 278-301. Chiru, Mihail and Natasha Wunsch (2023): Democratic backsliding as a catalyst for polity-based contestation? Populist radical right cooperation in the European Parliament<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13501763.2021.1984546>, Journal of European Public Policy 30(1): 64-83. Wunsch, Natasha & Nicole Olszewska (2022). From projection to introspection: enlargement discourses since the ‘big bang’ accession<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07036337.2022.2085261>, Journal of European Integration 44(7): 919–939. Bélanger, Marie-Eve & Natasha Wunsch (2022). From cohesion to contagion? Populist radical right contestation of EU enlargement<https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcms.13280>, Journal of Common Market Studies 60(3): 653-672.