Senior Research Associate in Social and Political Philosophy

University of Bristol - Department of Philosophy

The role

This is a three-year postdoctoral research position in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bristol. The Research Associate will work as part of the ERC project Learning from Experience and Agency in Displacement (LEAD) led by Principal Investigator Dr Rebecca Buxton. The project critically investigates the possibility of refugee-led approaches to displacement justice and building new methods in the political and social philosophy of displacement. The role holder will have expertise in the political philosophy of migration and displacement and/or refugee and forced migration studies.

What will you be doing?

The role holder will work collaboratively as part of a project team consisting of the Principal Investigator, two postdoctoral Research Associates and two PhD students.

The LEAD project will run in three phases. Phase I will build the critical foundations for a refugee-led approach to displacement justice. This will be based on reconstructing the methodologies of debates in refugee studies and the political philosophy of refuge and building from these basic principles. At the end of this phase, the project will have a rough model to use for the following problem-solving stage. Phase 2 will seek to “stress test” the principles of the approach built in the first phase of the project by directly confronting several key puzzles for the methodology. These puzzles include challenges of defining refugeehood, intergroup heterogeneity, representation, epistemic injustice. Phase 3 of the project will endeavour to implement the novel methodology for political philosophers developed in the first two phases of the project. This will involve engaging with refugee populations and refugee-led organisations on questions of displacement justice.

The role holder is expected to conduct research primarily on the aspects of Phases 1 and 2. This will involve critical reconstructing methodological debates in refugee and forced migration studies, as well as working through challenges in implementation. Candidates may therefore have a particular capacity to engage in methodological reflection and meta-philosophical debates on the contours of a refugee-led approach to displacement justice

You should apply if

• You have a PhD in Philosophy, Migration Studies, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, or other similar disciplines (completed or submitted) by the time of the appointment.
• You have research expertise in the philosophy of migration and displacement.
• You have the ability to conduct research independently as well as work as part of a research team.
• You have an interest in interdisciplinary work that connects political philosophy and refugee and forced migration studies.

Additional information

To apply, please upload to the application system: a cover letter outlining suitability for the role, a CV, and a writing sample. Applicants who do not provide these may not be considered for shortlisting. Please see the first option under "qualification upload" for the option to upload your writing sample.

Contract type: Open-ended with fixed funding from 01/09/26 - 31/08/29

Work pattern: 1 FTE

Shift pattern: Monday - Friday

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on Sunday 3rd May 2026

For informal queries please contact: Rebecca Buxton, rebecca.buxton@bristol.ac.uk