Postdoctoral researcher in Social Sciences

BACKGROUND

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral research position. The position is part of the research project ‘The Social Life of State Deportation Regimes: A Comparative Study of the Implementation Interface’ (SOLIDERE), led by Dr. Barak Kalir, and funded by the European research Council (ERC starting grant).

The project studies the actual implementation processes of deportation policies, procedures and campaigns, in various states around the world: Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Indonesia, India and Ecuador.The project seeks to generate fine-grained ethnographies of the everyday implementation of deportation regimes by studying two pivotal groups that shape and influence deportation practices on the ground:

1. Street-level agents and civil servants – police, personnel in detention centres, officials in asylum division, etc. – who are responsible for locating, documenting, detaining and deporting individuals;
2. civil-society actors – working or volunteering in local and international NGOs, grassroots movements, religious organizations, etc. – who assume the role of representing the cause of deportable subjects, protecting their rights, assisting them and preventing their deportation.

The project goes beyond the dichotomist view of state and non-state actors as occupying opposing ideological stands regarding the implementation of deportation regimes. Instead, this project champions an understanding of this regime as being shaped by actions and organizations on both sides. We pay close attention to conflicts as well as complementary practices and converging views, by exploring the dynamics of both “implementation deficits” and “implementation surpluses”. We seek to study the full spectrum of removals, which includes: forced removals, expulsions of sentenced criminals, voluntary return programs, and individual decisions to leave/return in the face of harsh realities.This postdoctoral position is designed for studying the subjugation of Roma – who are EU citizens – to deportation regimes. The literature on Romani expulsion/deportation within the EU covers mostly the issue of compliance with the European laws and regulations. The postdoctoral researcher will choose a specific national context to explore not only the legal mechanisms but also the local practices and informal strategies that are applied in the case of Roma in order to manage them as a population and/or as individuals who are deportable within the EU.

Requirements

Candidates for the position have ideally already studied this phenomenon in one of the EU member states. They can then build on their previous experience in researching the deportation of Roma in one or more EU member states.

• Successful applicants will have the following credentials:
• completed PhD in the social sciences (e.g. anthropology, geography, sociology, political science);
• relevant research experience in the field of deportation/eviction of Roma in Europe (ethnographic fieldwork experience is an advantage);
• ongoing programme of research and publications, focused on international peer-reviewed journals;
• excellent written and spoken English;
• ability and interest to work in a team.

Conditions of employment

The appointment will be for 30.4 hours/week (0.8 fte), for 2 years. The position will start on 1 September 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter.Based on a full-time position of 38 hours per week the gross monthly salary will range from €3,400 to €4,654 (scale 11), depending on the candidate’s qualifications and experience, plus 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of- year allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities is applicable..

Additional information

For details of this vacancy visit the original source

For more similar posts visit scholarshipOpportunities and subscribe