Job Information
- Organisation/Company: Koç University
- Research Field: Political sciences » Other; Sociology » Other; Psychological sciences » Other
Offer Description
Shape the future — Koç University
Koç University is a leading non-profit private research university based in Istanbul, Türkiye, known for its research-intensive culture and its international academic community. The University hosts a growing portfolio of European Research Council (ERC) and Horizon Europe projects. The Department of International Relations offers a vibrant, interdisciplinary environment for the comparative study of politics, public opinion and computational social science.
The project
The ERC-funded project EMERGEPOL — “Emerging Issues and the Dynamics of Affective Polarization” — investigates how newly emerging political issues (such as immigration, climate change and European sovereignty) rise in salience, are framed by political elites and the media, and become drivers of affective polarization: the tendency of citizens to view political opponents with animosity and moral contempt. Adopting an “issue life-cycle” perspective, the project traces issues from elite and media discourse through to mass belief updating, ideological sorting and affective divides, using a most-different comparative design across four countries — Ireland, the Netherlands, Hungary and Türkiye.
Using a transnational and interdisciplinary approach, the project combines:
- Multilingual natural language processing (NLP) pipelines that detect and track the emergence, framing and moralization of issues across parliamentary debate, news media and social platforms;
- Three-wave panel surveys with embedded, pre-registered survey experiments, combined with Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) modelling to map the causal pathways from issue emergence to belief change and affective polarization;
- Machine-learning models that forecast the “polarization potential” of new issues, culminating in a Polarization Potential Index (PPI).
Your role
You will help lead the survey-based and causal-modelling strand of EMERGEPOL (Project 2: “Mapping the Causal Pathways from Issue Emergence to Polarization”). You will play a central role in designing, fielding and analysing the project’s three-wave panel surveys and embedded survey experiments across the four country cases, and in developing Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) models that trace how exposure to emerging issues shapes belief updating, partisan identity and affective polarization over time. You will contribute to the project’s comparative and transnational framework alongside team members working on Ireland, the Netherlands, Hungary and Türkiye.
Research strands
- Panel design and survey experiments. Designing and harmonising three-wave panel survey instruments and pre-registered survey-experimental modules (framing/moralization, elite-cue and selective-exposure) across the four countries, ensuring cross-national comparability, and coordinating fieldwork with in-country panel providers.
- Causal modelling with Dynamic Bayesian Networks. Building and estimating DBNs — structure learning, temporal dependencies and causal pathways linking issue salience, framing, belief updating, partisan attachment and affective polarization — and comparing causal maps across countries.
- Comparative analysis and hypothesis testing. Testing the project’s core hypotheses on moral/identity framing, asymmetric belief updating and media/elite amplification, and producing comparative findings and open, harmonised datasets.
For this position, Koç University (Istanbul) will serve as your home base, with collaboration and, where relevant, research stays across the project’s country teams.
What do we expect from you?
- A PhD (awarded, or to be awarded before the start date) in political science, comparative politics, political psychology, sociology, or a closely related field;
- Fluency in English;
- Demonstrated expertise in quantitative political behaviour research and survey methodology (panel/longitudinal design and survey experiments);
- Strong applied statistical and/or Bayesian skills, including experience with — or a clear capacity to work with — Dynamic Bayesian Networks, causal inference or probabilistic graphical models;
- Proficiency in R and/or Python for data management and analysis;
- Sensitivity to research-ethics and data-protection (GDPR) requirements in cross-national survey research.
You will:
- Conduct independent and collaborative research within an interdisciplinary, international team;
- Publish in peer-reviewed academic journals and contribute to collective project outputs;
- Present research at international conferences;
- Contribute to the organisation of workshops and public-facing events;
- Support open-science outputs (harmonised panel dataset, codebooks, DBN model scripts) and help mentor doctoral researchers.
Assets (not required, but considered an advantage):
- A developing research record on affective polarization, partisanship or public opinion;
- Experience with cross-national comparative survey infrastructures (e.g. CSES, ESS);
- Familiarity with pre-registration and reproducible-research workflows;
- Working knowledge of one of the project’s research languages (Turkish, Hungarian or Dutch).
What we offer
- A full-time position on a flagship ERC Advanced Grant. The initial appointment is for three years and, following a positive evaluation, is renewable for a further two years (up to five years in total);
- The planned start date is 1 January 2027, or as soon as possible thereafter;
- A competitive salary and social benefits in line with Koç University scales;
- A dedicated research budget for computing, data acquisition, fieldwork and international conference travel;
- A stimulating, international and interdisciplinary research environment spanning political behaviour, survey methodology, NLP, machine learning and Bayesian modelling, with close collaboration across the four country teams;
- Relocation and work-permit support for international candidates.
Want to apply?
You can apply via email: acarkoglu@ku.edu.tr. Please include the following attachments:
- Your CV, including a publication list and the contact details of two to three referees;
- A motivation letter outlining your interest in the project and your relevant experience;
- A writing sample in English (e.g. a representative publication, dissertation chapter or academic paper);
- A short statement (max 2 pages, excluding references) indicating how you would approach your part of the EMERGEPOL project.
Informal enquiries about the position are welcome at acarkoglu@ku.edu.tr.
Selection process
- Step 1: initial selection based on the application file;
- Step 2: interview with shortlisted candidates (online or in person), which will include a short presentation of the candidate’s research statement aligned with the objectives of EMERGEPOL.
If you have questions about the job itself, please contact the Principal Investigator, Prof. Ali Çarkoğlu (acarkoglu@ku.edu.tr).
Koç University is committed to an inclusive working environment and equal opportunity. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and nationalities, regardless of gender identity, disability, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age.
Where to apply
E-mail: acarkoglu@ku.edu.tr
Requirements
- Research Field: Political sciences » Other
- Education Level: PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
- Languages: English — Excellent (essential). Turkish, Hungarian or Dutch — an asset.
- Languages: ENGLISH
- Level: Excellent
- Research Field: Political sciences » Other
- Years of Research Experience: 1 - 4
Additional Information
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available: 1
- Company/Institute: Koç University
- Country: Türkiye
- City: Istanbul
Contact
- City: Istanbul
- Website: https://www.ku.edu.tr/en/home
- Street: Sariyer
- Postal Code: 34450
- E-Mail: acarkoglu@ku.edu.tr