Postdoc in Democratic Innovations and Moralizing Politic

The Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), invites candidates for a postdoctoral position in Democratic Innovations and Moralizing Politics from 1 January 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The position is a full-time fixed-term position for 3years.

The successful candidate will be part of the research project “Moralizing Politics: The Practice of Judging Others” (MoPo), funded by the European Research Council and led by Professor Christian Rostbøll.

Employment can be offered as postdoc or an assistant professorship. The offer depends on the candidate's profile. The position is fixed term for a minimum of 3 years but may be extended to 4 years. The duration of the employment offered depends on the candidate's profile in relation to the project and the teaching requirements at the department.

You can read an abstract of the MoPo project here. For the full project description, please send an email to MoPo@ifs.ku.dk

Introduction

MoPo investigates the role of moral judgment in contemporary politics, where citizens increasingly judge one another as good or bad people. It seeks to understand when the human propensity to judge others is pernicious versus beneficial for democracy and to answer how we can transform it into a resource that strengthens democracy. MoPo breaks new ground by comprehensively rethinking the idea of moralizing politics, creatively integrating philosophical analysis and research into practices of moral judgment in different areas and arenas, and by theorizing how practices of judging others can be channeled into improving (rather than undermining) democracy.

Job content

This postdoc position will concentrate on one of the work packages of the MoPo project: “WP4: What To do About Moralizing Politics: Policy and Institutions.” The research objective is to develop recommendations for democratic reform that can channel and transform moralizing politics and judgment in ways that deepen and strengthen, rather than threaten, democracy. WP4 asks which reforms are necessary to realize the principles of an ideal democratic process and deliberative system as laid out in WP3 of the MoPo project, to which the postdoc will also contribute. Most of the literature on moralizing politics and affective polarization takes existing institutions as a given and asks, given these institutions, what are the democratic consequences of moralizing politics. But perhaps the democratic problem is not moralizing politics but that existing institutions are not equipped to manage it in a conducive manner. MoPo assumes not only that politics will always be moralizing to some extent but also that if judging others takes the right form and has the right targets, this might also be conducive for deepening democracy, that is, making democracy more egalitarian, respectful, and inclusive, as well as better serving its epistemic function. However, rather than merely setting up abstract principles and telling people how they ought to regard and treat each other, WP4 explores democratic reforms that might help transform the practices of judging each other in ways that are consistent with and promote democratic norms.

The selected candidate will collaborate with the other team members to develop a normative theory concerning the proper place and scope of morally judging others in democratic politics.

Funding is available for conferences and field research, research visits, such that the candidate can develop their international network and research expertise.

Duties and Qualifications

The chosen candidate will be responsible for:

• Individual research and writing on the topic of democratic innovations and moralizing politics;
• Co-authoring publications with team members;
• Participating in workshops, conferences, and other scholarly activities;
• Teaching (if agreed to by both parties)

We are seeking to recruit a candidate with the following qualifications:

• A PhD degree in political science, practical/political philosophy, or a related field with a strong emphasis on political theory (required);
• A demonstrated aptitude for doing research in normative political theory (required);
• An interest in democratic innovations and in connecting political theory and political science (desired);
• A demonstrated aptitude for research (required);
• Proven skills in academic writing (required);
• A willingness to take on independent responsibilities and work collaboratively as part of a team (required).

Strategy of the Faculty of the Social Sciences

The Department of Political Science is part of the Faculty of the Social Sciences. The Faculty is a successful academic community that strives to put knowledge into action by:

• Engaging partners in the co-creation of knowledge, learning and social change.
• Empowering our students to become reflective and responsible citizens who have the vision, the knowledge and the competences to change society for the better.
• Energizing global, European and Danish communities of knowledge by innovating research methodologies and by research findings with impact

Salary and Terms of Employment

• Further information on qualification requirements as postdoc can be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities 2019 here:

https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/dokumenter/Ministerial_Order_no._1443_of_11_December_2019_on_Job_Structure_for_Academic_Staff_at_Universities.pdf

• Terms of appointment and salary is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne).
• The salary range starts at DKK 36,700 per month/approximately EUR 4,910 + an 18.07 % contribution to the pension scheme . It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

How to apply

Submit a complete application at our online portal. Click on the “Apply now” icon at the bottom of the page to apply. The documents must be in Adobe PDF or Word.

Your application must be written in English and include the following documents:

• Cover letter (detailing your motivation and background for applying for the specific postdoc position).
• Project description, detailing how you will approach WP4 within the overall theoretical framework of the MoPo project and ideas for articles (max. 2.000 words, not including references).
• CV
• List of publications
• Diplomas (master and PhD)
• Writing sample (article length)
• Teaching portfolio (if interested in taking on teaching responsibilities). Documentation of teaching qualifications in accordance with the University guidelines for teaching portfolios when appointing academic staff at the University of Copenhagen.

The recruitment process

Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The Department of Political Science

The Department is a top-ranked European Political Science department, which offers a vibrant, collegial, and pluralist academic working environment for ambitious scholars.

The pluralism of Political Science in Copenhagen is evidenced in the various epistemological and methodological approaches as well as subfields adopted by faculty, and in a wide range of core subjects in the MSc program. For more on the Department, please consult our webpage: https://politicalscience.ku.dk/

An Equal Opportunity Workplace

The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment, and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see: https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/.

The Department of Political Science has a Code of Conduct expressing our continuous commitment to ensuring a welcoming, inclusive, professional and respectful culture at the Department for Political Science, please see https://politicalscience.ku.dk/code-of-conduct.pdf

International applicant?

The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: https://ism.ku.dk/

Contact information

For information about the position, please contact: MoPo@ifs.ku.dk.

Information about the recruitment process is available from HR, email: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk. Please refer to ID: 211-2651/26-2I.

The application deadline is 27 September 2026 at 23:59 CEST.

Københavns Universitet giver sine knap 10.000 medarbejdere muligheder for at udnytte deres talent fuldt ud i et ambitiøst, uformelt miljø. Vi sikrer traditionsrige og moderne rammer om uddannelser og fri forskning på højt internationalt niveau. Vi søger svar og løsninger på fælles problemer og gør ny viden tilgængelig og nyttig for andre.

Info

Ansøgningsfrist: 27-09-2026 Ansættelsesdato: 01-01-2027 Afdeling/Sted: Department of Political Science Indhold ikke tilgængeligt på grund af cookie-valg Du kan ikke se indholdet i dette felt på grund af dine cookie-valg.

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