18 PhD positions in our doctoral network

The EUFOG doctoral network “Contested EU Foreign Policy in an Era of Geopolitics” invites applications for 18 PhD Fellowships.

EUFOG offers an integrated three-year doctoral programme, providing world-class, interdisciplinary research and specialised training in social and political sciences, political economy, and communication, including research visits and secondments at associated partners, to bridge the gap between academic research and everyday policy practice.

The 18 PhD projects:

R01: The politics of defence. EU member states debate armed forces in an era of great power competition. (Egmont/UGhent, Belgium)

R02: Driving contestation on climate and gender. Populism, the Commission, and the erosion of the liberal international order. (IBEI/UAB, Spain)

R03: The EU over 27. Enlargement in an era of great power competition. (ULEI*, Netherlands)

R04: The (geo)politics of energy. EU member states energy and raw materials diversification in the era of scarcity. (JUK, Poland)

R05: How deep are changes to the international role of the EU? The cases of development policy and human rights. (UiO, Norway)

R06: Gender in EU external relations in an age of closure, community and competition. (IBEI/UAB, Spain)

R07: Global climate politics beyond contractual multilateralism. Reconsidering EU as a green power. (IBEI/UAB, Spain)

R08: From normative to pragmatic and back? The EU’s engagement with close neighbours in a geopolitical order. (JUK, Poland)

R09: Is geopolitics the only game in town? The sources of Grand Strategic thought in the EU. (Egmont/UGhent, Belgium)

R10: Atlanticists, Europeanists and strategic autonomy. Preferences over and by allies. (ULEI*, Netherlands)

R11: Going South. Changing perspectives on the EU among “friends of multilateralism”. (UiO, Norway)

R12: Candidates, neighbours, buffers. Inclusion and exclusion in narratives about EU neighbouring regions. (JUK, Poland)

R13: The EU’s public diplomacy at time of crises and uncertainty. Cases on security and multilateralism. (DA, Austria)

R14: The Western security alliance under stress. The place of the EU. (DA, Austria)

R15: Great Powers and Multilateral Cooperation at the UN: Perceptions, Priorities and Outcomes (DA, Austria)

R16: Clashing self-understandings of EU Strategic Autonomy in a context of geopolitical competition (UoB, UK**)

R17: Domestic contestation over the EU's new geoeconomic instruments (UoB, UK**)

R18: A new geoeconomic power? Assessing the impact of the EU's unilateral trade and investment policy instruments (UoB, UK**)

*University of Leiden programmes have a duration of 4 years.

** R16, R17, and R18 are funded by UKRI.  

For more information about the benefits and requirements of the fellowships, and for information on how to apply, visit the “Call for PhD researchers” section of this website.