Research Officers x4 (POPGOV, PI Bruno Leipold)

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Salary: from £43,277 to £51,714 per annum with the potential to progress to £55,497 pa including London allowance

There are four posts available.

Funding is available to support these positions from September 2026 until August 2030. 

The Department of Government is recruiting 4 Research Officers (Postdoctoral Researchers) with a specialization in political theory and the history of political thought. We are looking for excellent candidates with the potential of pursuing a successful career in academia. The successful candidates will be part of the research project “Popular Government in Global Perspective” (POPGOV) co-led by Assistant Professor Bruno Leipold. The positions are fulltime appointments for a period of four years.

Candidates should have completed (or be near completion of) their PhD in Politics, History or a related field by the post start date. The ideal candidate will have a research interest in the history of popular government and democratic theory, the ability to apply methods from political theory and the history of political thought, and a willingness to engage with the empirical, philosophical and comparative approaches utilised by the wider research group.

The successful candidates will contribute to realizing the ERC-funded research project POPGOV (https://popgovproject.wordpress.com/), which seeks to uncover the principles and institutions of popular government, understood as those which empower ordinary citizens rather than socio-economic elites. The work package to be carried out at LSE focuses on the history of popular government, including the English Revolution (17^th Century); American, French and Haitian Revolutions (18^th Century); Latin American Revolutions (19^th Century) and German Revolution (20^th Century). Further historical moments of popular government may also be studied by the recruited candidates depending on their specialisms. Candidates are asked to use their research statement to outline their proposed research project on the history of popular government and how it contributes to the broader aims of POPGOV.

Through the post, candidates are expected to develop a research profile and competencies that prepare them for successfully applying to permanent, tenure-track positions in academia. The focus of the position is therefore research with no teaching obligations. Candidates are expected to contribute to the success of the research team by working collaboratively on all aspects of the project (administration, conceptualization, analysis, writing, and presentation). Beyond fostering candidates’ research profile, the PI and the Department of Government are committed to promoting the career development of the successful candidates through systematic career development reviews, regular mentoring, as well as formal training opportunities. Please refer to the Job Description for further details.

We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave and excellent training and development opportunities.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

To apply for this post, please go to www.lse.ac.uk/LSEJobs. 

If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page.

Should you have any queries about the role, please email Bruno Leipold (b.leipold@lse.ac.uk).

The closing date for receipt of applications is 19 April 2026 (23.59 UK time).

Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.

Interviews are likely to take place in w/c 18 May 2026.

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