PhD Scholarship at University of Ghent

We are seeking one full-time, fully-funded PhD fellowship (4 years) to join the European and International Governance research group on the project 'Ideas in EU climate and energy policymaking: assessing the (changing) role of the Council and the European Council'.

The European Union is a global frontrunner in adopting and implementing policies to combat climate change. Within the EU, the Council and the European Council are the institutions that bring member states together at different levels to negotiate and adopt policy decisions and political strategies. These institutions are key to decisions on the shape and scope of EU climate and energy strategies and policies. This project aims to unpack the role of ideas and discourses on climate and energy policy in the Council and European Council over time.

The research project is expected to have theoretical and practical impact. The research results should speak to developing literature in European studies, and to scholarship on the role of 'ideas' in particular. Furthermore, the project should link closely to scholarship on EU climate and energy policy, in particular. Practical impact is also expected in the form of policy recommendations: a deeper understanding of how ideas enter and interact in the Council and European Council can lead to suggestions for implementing conscious strategies to emphasise ideas that lead to (effective) policy outcomes.

The project researcher will become an active member of the Jean Monnet network ‘Governing the EU’s climate and energy transition in turbulent times, GOVTRAN’. See https://www.govtran.eu/ for more information.

Relevant professional experience is also desirable. The PhD position will begin at the earliest on 1 May 2019.

Please submit your application by email to claire. dupont@ugent.

Questions should be directed to claire.dupont@ugent.be