Description Position Details School of Government Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822 Grade: 7 Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to February 2029 Closing date: 21 st April 2026 Background “Resisting Interscalar Authoritarian Networks and Coalitions” (RESISTANCE) is a newly funded Horizon Europe project (Horizon call HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-07) that brings together 13 partner organisations to develop a novel Interscalar Framework which integrates political science and human geography to explain how authoritarian ideas, institutions, technologies, and policies spread through the interaction of local, national, and transnational actors. The project leads at the University of Birmingham are hiring a Postdoctoral Fellow to join the project team and help deliver the project. Please note that the project is currently in Grant Agreement Preparation (GAP) with the European Commission and this position is conditional on the Grant Agreement being signed and entering into force. More on RESISTANCE We are in an era of authoritarian momentum and democratic retreat. Even in long-established liberal democracies, including in Europe, the rise of autocratic appeal is no longer a looming threat; it is a lived reality. Scholars have responded by developing a rich stream of work on autocratisation, democratic backsliding, and democratic resilience. Democratic policymakers, civil society organisations (CSOs), journalists and donors are also investing significant resources in understanding how to resist authoritarian advance. Several RESISTANCE partners have worked at the frontlines of this effort. Yet, we lack a full appreciation of the contemporary authoritarian challenge and how to address it. For this to happen we need a new understanding of the contemporary authoritarian moment. Authoritarianism is not something that each country experiences and addresses on its own: borrowing from human and urban geography, we suggest a new understanding of authoritarianism as a fundamentally interscalar phenomenon. That is, authoritarian ideas, institutions, technologies, and policies are shaped and spread through the interaction and mutual influence of local, national, and transnational actors. These interscalar interactions shape authoritarian and resistance ecosystems that are themselves nested within multiple interdependent layers of action. This has profound implications for how we understand and confront the challenge of contemporary authoritarianism. The ambition of the Resisting InterScalar Authoritarian Networks and Coalitions (RESISTANCE) project is to map autocratic appeal and democratic resistance coalitions, explain how they emerge and function within broader authoritarian and resistance ecosystems, and ultimately provide new tools to resist what we call “Interscalar Authoritarianism”. The project is structured along 10 Work Packages that together deliver the core objectives to theorise, map, and explain how autocratic appeal coalitions and democratic resistance coalitions are constituted across scales (local, national, transnational), and how they work and interact in practice to shape the contemporary authoritarian challenge in diverse contexts, and co-produce and disseminate new tools to resist authoritarianism. The project is led by Licia Cianetti and Nic Cheeseman, and it builds on their work at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Elections Democracy Accountability and Representation (CEDAR). Role Summary The Research Fellow will be physically located within Centre for Elections Democracy Accou ntability and Representation (CEDAR) of the University of Birmingham. Within the University, the Research Fellow will be line-managed by the project leads Licia Cianetti and Nic Cheeseman. The Research Fellow will support the project leads with both the research and the management component of the project. While specific tasks will be determined upon appointment, these will include: supporting the theoretical component of the project and the development of the framework at the intersection of political science and human geography; supporting and conducting some of the primary research, including possible fieldwork trips; collaborating with the project leads and other project partners in drafting research and policy outputs; supporting the project leads and project manager with coordinating the consortium, including with administrative tasks; and contributing to the dissemination component of the project, including helping to organize project events, and to present project findings in international conferences and through the CEDAR’s People, Power, Politics podcast. The Research Fellow will be fully integrated into the international RESISTANCE team and will participate in project meetings and conferences. Main Duties The responsibilities of the role may include the following: Conducting reviews of the literature to contribute the development of the Interscalar Framework and its components. Drafting research papers and policy reports under the guidance of the project leads. This will include opportunities for single authorship and co-authorship with members of the wider project team. Conducting primary research relevant to the project, including fieldwork and site-based analysis. Keeping up to date with emerging research and policy in relevant subject areas. Supporting the project coordination and administration, including communication with other consortium members, under the guidance of the project leads and the project manager. Establishing and maintaining a database of relevant academic and policy contacts. Assisting in the organization of project workshops and conferences. Preparing blog posts and website news stories. Making presentations at project events and other relevant academic and policy venues. Maintaining consistent communications with key stakeholders. Assisting in the recording of podcasts on project-relevant topics. Promoting equality and valuing diversity, including acting as a role model, maintain high ethics standards in all aspects of the role, and fostering an inclusive working culture within CEDAR, the wider UoB community, and the RESISTANCE project team. Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars. Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding. Contribute to developing new research approaches and methods. Person Specification Skills and Knowledge The potential to develop a world class publication record. An interest in, and demonstrated understanding of, autocratisation and democratic resilience processes, including their sub-national, national and transnational dynamics. An interest in and experience of working on the politics of space and place, including site based and multi-level (local, national, international) analysis. An understanding of different theoretical approaches to democratization and autocratization, and how these have evolved over time. T he capacity and interest to work on interdisciplinary and challenge-led research. A good record of punctuality. A record of producing high quality written material to deadlines. The capacity and interest to work as part of a collaborative team. Understanding of research communication and impact. Excellent analytical skills. Ability to plan and work independently, tak ing responsibility for work in a proactive and independent manner. Ability to work to tight deadlines, pay careful attention to detail and be punctual. Ability to communicate complex information clearly. Desirable Qualifications and Experience A PhD in political science, geography, international development, international relations, or a related area, or close to completion. A record of producing high quality publications and policy reports. Experience of organizing and/or facilitating workshops and speaker events. Good quality presenting skills and experience. Good networking skills. Good IT skills. Informal enquiries can be made to Licia Cianetti, email l.cianetti@bham.ac.uk or Nicholas Cheeseman, email n.cheeseman@bham.ac.uk. Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview. We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .