Dear everyone, I'm seeking to recruit a postdoctoral researcher for a 3-year position in my ERC-funded research project EQUILIBRIUM ("Changing for the Better: Escaping Negative Equilibria in State-Citizen Relations"). The position is at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University in Denmark. EQUILIBRIUM investigates how regions can escape vicious cycles in state-citizen relations. In some contexts, poor state performance in the delivery of public goods and services reinforces negative population attitudes, leading to the election of parties that limit the state's resources and to fewer applicants for public sector jobs, among other effects. This perpetuates the state's poor performance, creating a self-reinforcing dynamic. The project examines which factors enable regions to break out of these negative patterns and shift toward more positive equilibria characterized by more favorable citizen attitudes. The project develops new theoretical concepts and empirical measures, using a novel sequential research design that integrates observational data, large-scale public opinion surveys, and inquiries of public administrations. Empirically, the project will collect comprehensive data across five European countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania) and the United States. Additional information about the project's content and goals can be found here<https://bss.au.dk/en/aarhus-bss-nyheder/show/artikel/erc-starting-grant-how-to-break-vicious-cycles-in-state-citizen-interactions>. For further details on the position and its requirements, as well as to submit an application, please visit the following website: https://international.au.dk/about/profile/vacant-positions/job/postdoctoral-position-in-political-science Application Deadline: Thursday, February 5, 2026 (23:59 Central European Time) If you have any questions about the position, the project, or Aarhus University, please contact me at jan.vogler@ps.au.dk<mailto:jan.vogler@ps.au.dk>. Please feel free to forward this announcement to any potential applicants. I have also shared information about this position on several social media platforms: LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jan-p-vogler-a89a41134_3-year-postdoc-in-political-science-at-activity-7404128075086450688-GVSt>, BlueSky<https://bsky.app/profile/janvogler.bsky.social/post/3m7kip2r6cc2f>, and Twitter/X<https://x.com/Jan_Vogler/status/1998362081419211054?s=20>. Thanks so much and have a nice rest of the week! Best, Jan -- Associate Professor of Political Science Aarhus University www.janvogler.net<http://www.janvogler.net/>