University of Sheffield
Working Pattern: Full time (35 hours per week)
Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
School: School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations
Overview
Postdoctoral Research Associate – Danish speaker (Business of Bordering Project, ESRC funded). The postholder will work under the supervision of Dr. Lucy Mayblin (University of Sheffield), in collaboration with Dr. Joe Turner (University of York) and Dr. Martin Lemberg-Pedersen (University of Southern Denmark).
Project Description
The Business of Bordering project, starting in September 2026, will focus on the wide range of companies, contracted directly or indirectly by governments, to contribute to border control. The research will focus on the UK and Denmark and how these states are experimenting with, propagating and normalising private border security businesses in their national contexts.
Responsibilities
* Build a database of border security tenders and contracts
* Identify the institutional mechanisms of democratic scrutiny and accountability of the business of bordering
* Undertake critical discourse analysis of policy texts
* Map stakeholders in the border security economy
* Conduct qualitative field research including elite and civil society interviews and participatory observation during border security sector events
* Carry out dissemination work
Qualifications
* Fluent in Danish and excellent English
* Ideally have knowledge and experience of working with financial datasets, analysis of public/private contracts, and company profiles
* Experience of studying border and immigration regimes, the arms trade, or military industrial complex is beneficial
* Enthusiasm for in-depth independent desk-based compilation of data in spreadsheets
* Postdoctoral research experience or training will be provided
Benefits
Competitive annual leave entitlement (with the possibility to purchase more), generous pension scheme, flexible working opportunities, commitment to development and wellbeing, wide range of retail discounts, and additional benefits (details available upon request).
#J-18808-Ljbffr