Postdoctoral Research Associate

About the Role

The post entails undertaking research in collaboration with and under the supervision of the project lead of the research programme ‘Politics and mythmaking: disentangling myth from ideology’. The project is funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant.

The project is interdisciplinary, drawing upon insights from different subjects, including political science, philosophy, history, and cultural studies. It seeks to develop the concept of political myth and apply it to the study of politics in Europe.

The post is based at the Queen Mary University of London Mile End Campus in London. It is a full-time, fixed-term appointment for three years, with an expected start date of 1st September 2026.

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Karl Pike at k.pike@qmul.ac.uk.

About You

You will have a PhD in a relevant subject area for the research programme. You will have knowledge and/or experience of European politics, which may include political parties, political actors and political institutions, broadly defined.

About the School/Department/Institute/Project

SPIR is one of the UK’s leading centres for the research and teaching of Politics and International Relations. It was ranked 7th overall among UK higher education institutions in the 2022 REF. The School is home to 70 academic staff and a highly diverse cohort of students and offers a broad-ranging and methodologically plural curriculum.

About Queen Mary

At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable.

Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers.

We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.

Benefits

We offer competitive salaries, access to a generous pension scheme, 30 days’ leave per annum (pro-rata for part-time/fixed-term), a season ticket loan scheme and access to a comprehensive range of personal and professional development opportunities. In addition, we offer a range of work life balance and family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, and campus facilities.

Queen Mary’s commitment to our diverse and inclusive community is embedded in our appointments processes. Reasonable adjustments will be made at each stage of the recruitment process for any candidate with a disability. We are open to considering applications from candidates wishing to work flexibly.