Research Associate in the Department of War Studies

The Department of War Studies is seeking up to 3 post-doctoral research associates to work with Dr Maeve Ryan at the Centre for Grand Strategy as part of the new Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy (AJI). This initiative is dedicated to supporting and mentoring the next generation of historically-minded scholars and practitioners in statecraft, strategy, and diplomacy. AJI is a transatlantic collaboration between the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit and a four-university consortium of the     Centre for Grand Strategy in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, the     Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, the     Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and the     Center for Statecraft and Political Communication at the Stockholm School of Economics. The partnership promotes the research and engagement of a cohort of up to twenty-four PhD and postdoctoral fellows across its member universities.

 

Applications will be considered postdoctoral researchers and from current PhD students nearing the completion of their PhD. Applicants must have completed their PhD by the time they take up the fellowship.

 

Successful applicants will have a track record of excellent historically-minded research in statecraft, diplomacy, or strategy. Applications are particularly encouraged from those with an interest in the translation of research to policy-relevant outputs.

 

Incoming postdoctoral fellows will work closely with the members and affiliates of the Centre for Grand Strategy and will be expected to participate in the Centre’s activities and the broader intellectual community of KCL. They will also collaborate with faculty, affiliates, students, and fellows from the other institutes in the consortium, creating a multi-institutional, international community that spans the Atlantic, as well as have publishing opportunities through Engelsberg Ideas (https://engelsbergideas.com).

 

The successful applicants will conduct their own original, historically-informed research and analysis on a project connected to AJI’s core thematic interests (grand strategy, statecraft, diplomacy, world order, geopolitics), with a clear idea of planned publications and other research outputs to be completed during the course of the fellowship. We welcome proposals on any topic relevant to the above thematic interests, and we encourage proposals that focus on innovative approaches and/or under-represented regions of study. Proposals are particularly welcomed in areas with the potential to develop applied historical approaches to present-day UK strategic priorities (e.g. on the Indo-Pacific region).

 

Successful candidates will be expected, in addition to pursuing their own research and writing, to contribute to the intellectual life of the Centre for Grand Strategy as well as the AJI consortium and to participate in and support their programming, including participation in events and other collaborative activities.

 

Candidates will normally be expected to remain in residence at the Centre for Grand Strategy for the duration of their contract.

 

There are 3 positions available. All will be offered on a full-time, fixed term contracts for 2 years from September 2023.

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