PhD Position (Law and/or Political Science) - Governance of Climate Extremes

Mountain Research Initiative; Bern; Hybrid; CHF 47,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

The PhD position is affiliated with NCCR CLIM+ and involves research at the interface of law and political science in Switzerland. Depending on the candidate's background, the PhD will be located at the Institute of Public Law or the Institute of Political Science, with potential double-affiliation but a single thesis submission.

Focus areas include governance, justice, and regulation of climate extremes, such as droughts, floods, heatwaves, and heavy precipitation, with engagement across

Qualifications

• Masters degree in Political Science, Law, and/or the Social Sciences.
• Interest in governance of extreme climate events at the intersection of law and political science.
• Curious, creative and comfortable working in interdisciplinary settings.
• Excellent command of English, German and/or French (both written and spoken).

Responsibilities

• Investigate under what conditions law and politics recognize and define an event as ‘extreme’ and what this means for resulting governance responses and questions of justice.
• Complete a PhD thesis at the interface of law and political science.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and stakeholders across sectors.

Skills

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Governance of climate extremes

Languages: English, German, French

Education

Masters degree in Political Science, Law, or Social Sciences

Job description

PhD Position (Law and/or Political Science) – Governance of Climate Extremes

NCCR CLIM+, ETH Zurich and University of Bern, Switzerland.

The successful candidate will work within NCCR CLIM+, a newly established SNSF-funded National Center of Competence. NCCR CLIM+ is the first fully interdisciplinary, Switzerland-wide climate research community with the aim to tackle pressing issues related to climate extremes. It collaborates with stakeholders, ranging from public health to finance, agriculture, and water management to produce actionable interventions related to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Further information about NCCR CLIM+ can be found on: https://www.nccr-climplus.ch

The PhD will be affiliated with Prof. Laura Mai (Law) and Prof. Karin Ingold (Political Science). Depending on the background of the successful candidate and the focus of the PhD thesis, the candidate will mainly be located at the Institute of Public Law or the Institute of Political Science. A double-affiliation is possible, but the thesis will be submitted to one faculty only.

Job Description

This PhD project is part of Workpackage 3 of NCCR CLIM+, which concentrates on questions of governance and justice around the regulation of climate extremes (such as droughts, floods, heatwaves, and heavy precipitation amongst others). The successful candidate will complete a PhD thesis at the interface of law and political science. Specifically, the thesis will investigate under what conditions law and politics recognize and define an event as ‘extreme’ and what this means for resulting goveranance responses and questions of justice.

Your Profile

• Masters degree in Political Science, Law, and/or the Social Sciences, including Socio-legal Studies.
• Interest in exploring the governance of extreme climate events at the intersection of law and political science
• Curious, creative and comfortable working in interdisciplinary settings
• Excellent command of English, German and/or French (both written and spoken)