PhD Position for Research Toward Transformative Approaches in International Development

Geopolitical instability genocidal violence resurgent nationalism disruptive technological changes and climate emergency exacerbate global inequalities and vulnerabilities. Are you concerned about the future of our world in the midst of these intersecting global crises Are you interested in writing a PhD thesis that pushes the frontier of International Development Studies (IDS) Then we have the perfect challenge for you!

Confronting polycrises: Toward transformative approaches in international development

The Governance and Inclusive Development (GID) research group of The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences invites applications for a fully funded PhD position. We invite research proposals that examine the implications of current polycrises for our thinking about development through a concrete entry point. The research ideas should contribute to rethinking and transforming the study and practice of international development in ways that do not reinforce the polycrises but rather aspire to discern the potential for more just futures.

What are you going to do

• Develop independent research: design and carry out original and sound research that contributes new knowledge to international development with support from your supervisors. This involves formulating research questions selecting suitable methodologies and reflecting on your positionalities.
• Engage with academic literature and critically review and synthesise relevant scholarship. Staying up to date with current debates is essential for contextualising your work.
• Ethical research data generation and social engagement: We expect ethical co-creative impact-oriented research involving partnerships with social actors and communities as well as the generation and analysis of data using a variety of methods.
• Disseminate your research findings in the form of a PhD dissertation (article based or in manuscript format) as well as presenting your work at conferences publishing via diverse channels (e.g. GID website blogs etc.) and communicating your findings to relevant policymakers NGOs and/or broader audiences to generate impact.
• Teaching and academic citizenship: Support teaching (10% of total contract time) and contribute to the activities of the research group and department within the academic community.

What do you have to offer

You are an ambitious and talented researcher with a passion for IDS research. You are excited about your proposed research project and have a clear feasible plan on how to conduct this research. You are committed to contributing to the academic community in different ways from helping with the organisation of activities to participating in interdisciplinary debates. Your experience and profile:

• A relevant Masters degree in IDS or related disciplines in social sciences;
• Knowledge of and/or strong affinity with transformations in IDS the current contexts of polycrises and relational perspectives;
• Experience with mixed research methods (including participatory and creative approaches that challenge traditional development metrics) and (digital) fieldwork;
• Commitment to challenging persistent knowledge hierarchies and flows by decentring knowledge including experience working with non-academic partners and/or audiences;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Knowledge of language(s) and socio-cultural contexts relevant to proposed research (previous experience in proposed research context is a plus);
• Independent thinking and critical analytical skills;
• Demonstrable organisational skills flexibility communication skills and a collaborative and proactive attitude;
• An interest in and experience with research communication for diverse audiences.

What else do we offer you

We offer a temporary employment contract of 38 hours per week for a maximum term of four years. The initial employment is for one year and the latest starting date is 1 September 2026. Following a positive assessment this term will be extended by a maximum of three years which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. You will attend courses offered by the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) and the Graduate School of Social Sciences as part of the PhD addition to doing research publicising your findings and participating in academic events you will be involved in teaching (roughly 10% of your contract time).

You will work here

Through research education and social engagement members of the GID group foster a more just sustainable and inclusive world. We do this by engaging with examining and challenging dominant patterns and understandings of development as a contested notion and its relationship to (in)justice. We critically examine what has been done in the name of development in the past and the present and how the impacts of development have been distributed among people and places. These insights allow us to (re)imagine the future of development that is more just sustainable and inclusive. As a team GID advances academic excellence contributes to methodological innovation and focuses on impact. We work across academic disciplines and engage with social actors in sectors beyond academia and integrate diverse knowledge into our work.

Since its inception in the 1990s the GID group has responded to and set research agendas for understanding the ever-changing field of IDS. Transformations in political environmental economic social cultural and technological contexts can contribute to progress but also to persisting and often deepening injustices within and between population groups. As an interdisciplinary team we scrutinise the underlying assumptions and premises of those transformations which exacerbate deepening inequality and injustice from diverse perspectives and using different research methods. Our work focuses on linking up a range of themes to governance and inclusive development within and across the Global South and North East and addition our research applies relational perspectives highlighting the transnational translocal and inter-scalar nature of development processes and their impacts.

If you recognize yourself in this profile and are interested in the role we look forward to receiving your application that should include (bundled in one pdf document):

• An application letter (max 2 pages) describing your motivation and qualifications
• Your CV
• Your research proposal using this template
• One writing sample no longer than 25 pages. If you want to include a longer text (such as a masters thesis) please provide an excerpt
• Contact information for two academic references. Letters of recommendation are not necessary.

You can apply via the red button until 15 April 2026. Interviews will take place in April/May 2026. In case of equal qualifications internal candidates will be given preference over external candidates.

For questions about the vacancy you can contact:

Prof. Maggi Leung