Research Associate for the Project “What Citizens Think They Should and Can Do in Democracies (CONSTRUCT)” § 28 Subsection 3 HmbHG
InstitutionFaculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Social Sciences, Political Science with a focus on Democratic Political Decision-Making
Salary level
Start date01.09.2026, fixed until 31.08.2029, with the option to extend to four years (This is a fixed-term contract in accordance with Section 2 of the academic fixed-term labor contract act [Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG]).
Application deadline01.07.2026
Scope of workpart-time
Weekly hours75 % of standard work hours per week
The project “What Citizens Think They Should and Can Do in Democracies” (CONSTRUCT), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), aims to investigate how citizens understand their role in democracies, especially during societally challenging times. Western democracies recently experienced a series of societal challenges––including wars, a pandemic, and climate change––and many citizens are dissatisfied with how politicians address these challenges, become polarized or turn to radical right parties, or withdraw from politics altogether. Amid these challenges, the CONSTRUCT-project reconsiders citizens’ role in democracies: what do citizens themselves think they should and can do in democracies, especially when the issues they care about might be too big to be addressed by institutions alone? Some theories in political science raise considerable demands on what citizens should do (e.g., inform themselves, deliberate, get active), but empirical research often shows that citizens cannot meet these demands (e.g., because they are too busy, disinterested, or biased.). The CONSTRUCT project aims to develop a novel concept––tentatively called Constructive Citizenship Behavior––that directly captures the tension between ideals and reality by asking citizens directly what they think they should do and what they can actually do.
Led by Peter Luca Versteegen, PhD, members of the CONSTRUCT project will first conduct qualitative interviews with citizens in several countries to get an in-depth understanding of citizens’ ideals and experiences. Based on these interviews, we will develop a generalizable quantitative measure of Constructive Citizenship Behavior across several countries. In the final steps, we will quantitatively examine the causes, correlates, and consequences of this concept. Besides building scientific knowledge of citizens’ ideals and experiences in democracies, the project ultimately aims to contribute a pragmatic understanding of how Western democracies can better address the many challenges they are facing.
Your responsibilities
Duties include academic services in the project named above. Research associates may also pursue further academic qualifications outside of their work responsibilities. They may also pursue doctoral studies outside of working duties.
Duties include academic research in the realm of the CONSTRUCT-project. Your project-related tasks will be, amongst others, to collaborate on literature reviews, designing the studies, conducting the qualitative interviews, preparing the quantitative studies, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and drafting and revising manuscripts for publication in international and peer-reviewed journals.
Besides, this position allows and encourages the successful applicant to pursue their doctoral degree.
Your profile
A university degree in a relevant field.
Expected:
1. an excellent Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., political science, psychology, communication sciences, economics, data science, sociology)
2. excellent command of written and spoken English (C1), the project’s business will be conducted entirely in English
Desired:
3. command of languages other than English or German
4. experiences in social science research processes
5. advanced knowledge of social science research methods
6. knowledge of research in fields, theories, or concepts related to, for example: citizenship norms, democratic theory, responsiveness, populism, radical right voting, (affective) polarization, political behavior, political psychology
7. first experiences with publication processes
We offer
8. Reliable remuneration based on wage agreements
9. Continuing education opportunities
10. University pensions
11. Attractive location
12. Flexible working hours
13. Work-life balance opportunities
14. Health management, EGYM Wellpass
15. Educational leave
16. 30 days of vacation per annum
Universität Hamburg—University of Excellence is one of the strongest research educational institutions in Germany. Our work in research, teaching, educational and knowledge exchange activities is fostering the next generation of responsible global citizens ready to tackle the global challenges facing us. Our guiding principle “Innovating and Cooperating for a Sustainable Future in a digital age” drives collaboration with academic and nonacademic partner institutions in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and around the world. We would like to invite you to be part of our community to work with us in creating sustainable and digital change for a dynamic and pluralist society.
The University of Hamburg is committed to equity. Diversity enriches our university life, whether in our studies, research, teaching, education, or workplace. We therefore welcome all applications, regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic or social background, age, religion or belief, disability, or chronic illness.
The University of Hamburg strives to increase the number of women in academia, and encourages qualified female academics to apply.
Severely disabled and disabled applicants with the same status will receive preference over equally qualified non-disabled applicants.