Job opportunity: 3 PhD Positions at the ULB
Université libre de Bruxelles (Faculty of sciences)
Application deadline: 31/05/2026
Start date: 01/09/2021
Job Description
The CLOSER project studies the interaction between the political party system and social cleavages in the post-Ottoman Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It focuses on present-day Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, and Tunisia, covering a period from 1908 to the present day. Bringing together political scientists, geographers, and historians, as well as experts from other disciplines, CLOSER questions the relevance and extension of the Lipset-Rokkan theory on social cleavages and the origins of political parties in Western Europe (and its updates) in a non- European context. Here, cleavages must be understood at the conceptual level (social cleavages – identity – party system) and not in their specific configurations as found in Western Europe.
In this context, the geography team at the Université Libre de Bruxelles aims to identify and understand contemporary divisions in the societies under study. The Closer project favours a quantitative approach inspired by electoral geography (and sociology), as well as a comparative approach.
This offer concerns the funding of a four-year doctoral program starting in September 2026 at the ULB.
The PhD will focus on the electoral geography and sociology of one or more countries covered by the project (Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia) and must fit within the main themes covered by the project, in particular: nation building and minorities; agrarian structures and electoral behavior; the social bases of authoritarian regimes; the consequences of liberal reforms since the 1980s on social divisions and their political translation. The analysis should therefore start from electoral geography and understand its foundations and origins through the themes mentioned above, preferably from a comparative perspective between two countries.
The work will include one or more missions to the country or countries concerned.
Required title
A Master's degree (120 ECTS credits) in geography or any other relevant field
Skills required
- Proficiency in territorial data analysis
- Proficiency in the fundamentals of electoral analysis
- Proficiency in English, French, and Arabic (or Turkish)
Interested?
For more information, please contact Gilles Van Hamme (gilles.van.hamme@ulb.be)
Application files should include the following:
Start date: 01/09/2021
Job Description
The CLOSER project studies the interaction between the political party system and social cleavages in the post-Ottoman Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It focuses on present-day Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey, and Tunisia, covering a period from 1908 to the present day. Bringing together political scientists, geographers, and historians, as well as experts from other disciplines, CLOSER questions the relevance and extension of the Lipset-Rokkan theory on social cleavages and the origins of political parties in Western Europe (and its updates) in a non- European context. Here, cleavages must be understood at the conceptual level (social cleavages – identity – party system) and not in their specific configurations as found in Western Europe.
In this context, the geography team at the Université Libre de Bruxelles aims to identify and understand contemporary divisions in the societies under study. The Closer project favours a quantitative approach inspired by electoral geography (and sociology), as well as a comparative approach.
This offer concerns the funding of a four-year doctoral program starting in September 2026 at the ULB.
The PhD will focus on the electoral geography and sociology of one or more countries covered by the project (Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia) and must fit within the main themes covered by the project, in particular: nation building and minorities; agrarian structures and electoral behavior; the social bases of authoritarian regimes; the consequences of liberal reforms since the 1980s on social divisions and their political translation. The analysis should therefore start from electoral geography and understand its foundations and origins through the themes mentioned above, preferably from a comparative perspective between two countries.
The work will include one or more missions to the country or countries concerned.
Required title
A Master's degree (120 ECTS credits) in geography or any other relevant field
Skills required
- Proficiency in territorial data analysis
- Proficiency in the fundamentals of electoral analysis
- Proficiency in English, French, and Arabic (or Turkish)
Interested?
For more information, please contact Gilles Van Hamme (gilles.van.hamme@ulb.be)
Application files should include the following:
- a motivation letter;
- a Curriculum vitae including a list of publications if applicable (a template can be downloaded at https://www.ulb.be/fr/organigramme/fill-in-your-cv-on-line);
- a page explaining the method that will be used to meet the objectives set out in this call.
These documents may be written in French or English.
By sending in their application, applicants acknowledge they have read and understood the additional information and regulations relevant to research staff, available at the following address http://www.ulb.ac.be/emploi/academique.html.
Equal opportunity policy
ULB's personnel management policy focuses on diversity and equal opportunities. We recruit
candidates based on their skills, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, origin, nationality, beliefs, disability, etc.
Would you like to benefit from reasonable accommodations during the selection process due to a disability, disorder, or illness? Please do not hesitate to contact Marie Botty (marie.botty@ulb.be), our contact person in charge of diversity issues for teaching and research staff. Rest assured that this information will remain confidential.
More details on gender and diversity policies are available at https://www.ulb.be/fr/l-ulb-s-engage/diversites
You will find all the provisions relating to careers in the scientific community on our website at
http://www.ulb.ac.be/emploi/academique.html
By sending in their application, applicants acknowledge they have read and understood the additional information and regulations relevant to research staff, available at the following address http://www.ulb.ac.be/emploi/academique.html.
Equal opportunity policy
ULB's personnel management policy focuses on diversity and equal opportunities. We recruit
candidates based on their skills, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, origin, nationality, beliefs, disability, etc.
Would you like to benefit from reasonable accommodations during the selection process due to a disability, disorder, or illness? Please do not hesitate to contact Marie Botty (marie.botty@ulb.be), our contact person in charge of diversity issues for teaching and research staff. Rest assured that this information will remain confidential.
More details on gender and diversity policies are available at https://www.ulb.be/fr/l-ulb-s-engage/diversites
You will find all the provisions relating to careers in the scientific community on our website at
http://www.ulb.ac.be/emploi/academique.html