Open Positions

The Chair of Comparative Politics is looking to recruit a student research assistant, beginning in August (but we are flexible on the specific start date). We are a diverse international team, working on a variety of political science, political economy, and finance topics. In the context of two research projects, we are looking for a student research assistant that helps us to prepare and pre-process the data.

• With the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) project Institutional Foundations of Industrialization, Financialization, and Globalization of the Swiss Economy. Evidence from 140 Years of the Commercial Registry we will produce a unique dataset of 140 years of Swiss corporate history featuring information about firm key characteristics, purpose, owners, and finance.
• With the SNIS project What Explains Ambitious Climate Policy? Comparing Updated Climate Targets and Covid-19 Recovery Packages and Their Drivers we will analyse political and economic drivers to explain country differences in climate ambition between NDCs and recovery packages.
  
  

What we offer:

A 20% position (approximately 8h/week), plus office space you can also use outside your working hours.


Responsibilities include:

SNSF:

• Document screening to detect data patterns for parsing
• Contribution to code development (tbd)
  
  

SNIS:

• Download and organization of documents
• Document screening (countries climate finance needs and targets)
• Database setup and construction
• Code each country regarding their climate finance needs for adaptation and mitigation
• Write a brief synopsis on country clusters (tbd)

We expect the successful candidate to be:

• A MA or advanced BA student
• Excited by empirical research
• Someone who cares about getting the details right
• Fluent in German or French (Reading) and highly proficient in English
  
  

Desirable but not essential:

• Interested in economic history and/or international climate finance
• Experience with working with datasets
• Experience with working in R
• Experience with data visualisation (e.g., ggplot2)
  
  

Interested applicants should apply via email to: Ms. Anna Stünzi (anna.stuenzi@unisg.ch | +41 78 847 93 17)

Your application should include a CV, a transcript of your grades (MA students should include their BA certificate) and a short (no more than one page) cover letter outlining your interest and suitability for the role. Please hand in your application documents as one single pdf-attachment.

We will be reviewing candidates on a rolling basis throughout the summer.

The Chair of Comparative Politics is looking to recruit a student research assistant, beginning in approximately July (but we are flexible on the specific start date). We are a diverse international team, working on a variety of political science topics, such as democratisation, state control over ICT, the role of experts in democratic politics, climate governance and economics, and global financial governance, which is the subject matter of this job call.

What we offer:

A 20% position (approximately 8h/week), plus office space you can also use outside your working hours.

Responsibilities include:

• Download and organise founding documents, annual reports, governance structures, etc. from 10 financial network websites (e.g., the Financial Stability Board; the European Securities and Markets Authority)
• Write a brief synopsis on each network
• Conduct a literature review for academic studies about the networks
• Code each of the networks regarding their democratic governance, authority, etc. with our codebook and using the downloaded documents

We expect the successful candidate to be:

• A MA or advanced BA student
• Excited by empirical research
• Someone who cares about getting the details right
• Highly proficient in English

Desirable but not essential:

• Interested in financial regulation
• Experience with working with datasets
• Experience with working in R
• Experience with data visualisation (e.g., ggplot2)

Interested applicants should apply via email to: Ms. Anne Kristine Tischhauser (annekristine.tischhauser@unisg.ch | +41 71 224 2600)

Your application should include a transcript of your grades (MA students should include their BA certificate) and a short (no more than one page) cover letter outlining your interest and suitability for the role. Please hand in your application documents as one single pdf-attachment.

We will be reviewing candidates on a rolling basis throughout the summer.

The research group of Comparative Politics held by Prof. Tina Freyburg at the Institute of Political Science of the University of St.Gallen invites highly motivated researchers with a Ukrainian background to apply for a position as doctoral researcher in Comparative Politics.

The successful candidate is expected to develop and conduct their own PhD project in the framework of a larger research project on Discourses, narratives and perceptions in EU democracy support in the Eastern neighborhood. It primarily explores the images associated with EU democracy promotion prevalent within the European Commission and among its Eastern partners. The candidate will participate in the Department's doctoral program (www.dia.unisg.ch), which offers advanced methodological and substantive training as well as professional development.

The position would be for a period of up to 3 years, contingent on research productivity and quality, as well as continued substantive fit. The salary aligns with the directives of the University of St.Gallen and amounts to approx. 42,000 CHF in the first year.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in political science or in a related social science discipline
• Motivation to pursue an academic career and interest in theory-driven empirical research
• Solid training in quantitative research methods and statistical packages
• Fluency in English, German and/or French
  
  

The position is primarily targeted at vulnerable persons affected by the Ukraine crisis. The applicant should be present in St. Gallen within a reasonable time, depending on the circumstances. We offer support (to the extent possible) with applying for the work and residence permit, finding suitable accommodation and covering moving expenses.

Applications should include a motivation letter, a CV, one significant writing sample (e.g., MA/term paper), documentation (university degree), and the contact details of two academic references. We intend to have interviews via the phone or online if the circumstances permit.

We accept applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Please send your application and questions you may have to ipw@unisg.ch. For updates and to see whether this position is still open, check: https://ipw.unisg.ch