Organisation/Company Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Department Department of Social Sciences Research Field Political sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 11 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Feb 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - MSCA Reference Number 101312379 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No Offer Description

The Department of Social Sciences at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) is looking for a PhD candidate to join the Doctoral Network "Democratic Institutions and Violence Network in Europe" (DIViNE), funded by the EU Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme. Dr. Francisco Villamil (UC3M) and Dr. Brian J. Phillips (University of Essex) will supervise the candidate, who will join a network of 10 PhD candidates across five European universities.

DIViNE brings together leading European research environments: UvA (Amsterdam), UESSEX (Essex), UMIL (Milan), UC3M (Carlos III de Madrid) and UU (Uppsala). It also involves partner organisations, including the Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science, CIDOB, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, ICIP, International IDEA, Clingendael and Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). Together they combine complementary strengths in quantitative conflict research, behavioural and experimental methods, historical and archival inquiry, institutional and normative theory, and applied policy engagement.

The DIViNE network

Democracies are commonly seen as able to channel contestation through institutionalised processes and nonviolent action.



Yet democratic polities frequently experience a broad range of political violence, from riots and organised electoral intimidation to extremist mobilisation and criminal violence. This violence can test, and at times erode, democratic norms and institutions. Democracies may also respond to perceived threats with measures that threaten core features of liberal democracy, such as the rule of law, civil liberties and institutional impartiality. Examples include militarised policing, emergency legislation and selective repression. DIViNE consolidates comparative, historical, theoretical and methodological strands to build a coherent new research programme on political violence in democracies.

The PhD project

The PhD project, "Democratic Decline, Political Violence, and Cycles of Repression", investigates the endogenous relationship between democratic decline and political violence. It analyses how violent protests, terrorism and criminal activity generate pressures for securitisation, and how democratic crackdowns may in turn provoke further dissident violence. It also considers how organised crime interacts with weak or declining democratic institutions, particularly in fragile or post-conflict settings.

The research will combine event-level violence data, comparative historical analysis and case studies (e.G. Italy, Northern Ireland)



to identify the mechanisms that trigger self-reinforcing cycles of repression and resistance. The project will provide actionable insights on how to prevent and reverse such spirals. The candidate will be free to develop their own project within these parameters.

The candidate will receive interdisciplinary training across Madrid and Essex in democratic backsliding, political violence, terrorism and comparative politics. The doctoral trajectory includes a research stay at the University of Essex. It also includes a non-academic secondment at CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs), which will provide opportunities for policy-oriented research, policy engagement and strategic communication.

The candidate will:

- Be enrolled in the UC3M PhD Programme in Social Sciences and take part in its training activities. Your academic work is to result in a doctoral thesis defended at UC3M.
- Take an active part in DIViNE network activities, including training modules, PhD colloquia, research workshops, secondments and summer schools.
- Carry out an academic research stay at the University of Milan and a non-academic secondment at CIDOB (Barcelona).
- Take an active part in the research environment of the Department of Social Sciences, including its seminar series, the annual PhD workshop and the activities of the Juan Linz Institute.
- Co-author publications with other project members and contribute to dissemination and outreach. Assist with project-related activities, such as organising workshops or other network events.

What we offer

- A full-time employment contract at UC3M for 36 months, under the MSCA Doctoral Network employment conditions.
- Remuneration acc

📌 Phd Position In Political Science (España)
🏢 Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
📍 España