-----Original Message-----
From: On all aspects of Russia and the FSU
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Andreas Umland
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 7:27 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: CfA: PhD Scholarships Post-Soviet Affairs, EU 15.3.13

In the frame of the project

Post-Soviet Tensions: A PhD and post-doctoral Training Programme in
Post-Soviet Affairs for Early Career Researchers

Funded by a FP7/Marie Curie ITN action and coordinated by Dublin City
University, School of Law and Government

We offer

12 PhD scholarships (deadline 15/3/2013, starting date 1/9/2013)

and

1 Post-doctoral fellowship (deadline 15/2/2013, starting date
1/5/2013 or soon after). A second post-doctoral position will be open
in 2015

Tensions: short description

The main aim of this project is to create the next generation of
experts on post-Soviet affairs and make them competitive for
employment in both the public and private sector.

This will be made possible thanks to a highly-targeted training in
this research programme that will enhance participants' research
skills, together with a first-hand experience with a partner
operating in a market environment, where the researchers will learn
about the applicability of their skills to different fields and
sectors.

The above activities will also assist the establishment, and
sustainability, of an interdisciplinary and intersectorial research
and training environment on post-Soviet affairs that we expect to
become a leading voice on issues related to post-Soviet affairs, both
in academia and the private sector.

This ITN will provide a world class PhD training programme focused on
tensions in the post-Soviet regions. "Tensions" is defined to include
open conflict and also latent social, ethno-national, ethnic or inter-
state tensions that could but have not as yet manifested violence.
The project will support the development of a team of 12 PhD students
(Early Stage Researchers) and two post-doctoral fellows (Experienced
Researchers >4<5 years of research experience). Those taking part
will obtain or deepen a regional specialisation, will be provided
with a rigorous methodological training and three years experience of
working in an international and intercultural environment.
Participants will spend periods working in the region, in partner
universities and will be sent as interns to private partners (list of
partners is annexed), and will take part in nine workshops and
conferences.

The Programme is offering 12 pre-doctoral (36 months) and 2 post-
doctoral (24 months) fellowship. The package includes a very
attractive salary (in line with Marie Curie remuneration rules) and
an allowance to cover expenses for field work, network events and
conference attendance. The 12 PhDs will begin on 1 September 2013,
for 3 years.  The post-doctoral fellowships will begin on 1 May 2013
and 1 May 2015, each for 2 years duration.

Applicants are advised to check their eligibility under Marie Curie
rules (URL at the end of this document), read the research topic
below and apply directly to the university working on the topic they
are interested in. There is some degree of freedom in proposing a
topic and you will be free to develop it academically, but the
proposals do need to be related to one of the topics mentioned below.
It might be worth to discuss a possible proposal with your potential
institution before formally applying.

The application package consists of a short CV, a cover letter, a
research project (max 5 pages) and the name and contact details of
three references who can comment on the applicant's professional
competences and/or academic capacity. Applications received by the
15th of March 2013 (15th February 2013 for the post-doctoral) will be
given full consideration.

Topics

"Tensions" is a term to be understood in a broad sense in the post-
Soviet context, where tensions may be latent, dormant, managed and
contained, or erupting. They may also be political, social, domestic
and international. We will examine tensions in different contexts,
regions, segments of the society and between different actors.
Tensions between the state and the citizens, ethnic groups and
states, states and non state actors, and between different ethnic,
social or economic groups.

The 14 individual projects that are the core of our project have been
clustered into three main areas:

Sub-topic 1: Inter-regional tensions

Geopolitical tensions

1) Energy issues in the Caspian region with a focus on cooperation
within the CIS and geopolitical struggles between major foreign
powers (PhD, Forschungstelle Osteuropa, University of Bremen)

2) Foreign Policy and international recognition of the
unrecognised/partially recognised states in former USSR (PhD, Dublin
City University)

The European Union

3) The EU´s contribution/response to tensions in the former USSR
(PhD, University of Warsaw)

4) Energy relations between Russia, transit countries and the EU
within the broader context of international relations in the EU´s
Eastern neighbourhood (PhD, Forschungstelle Osteuropa, University of
Bremen)

Security tensions

5) Tensions arising from the developing international and regional
security situation or architecture (1 Post Doctoral Fellow ER <5,
Dublin City University

Sub-topic 2: National and regional tensions, nation building and statehood

Challenges to the political arena and symbolic order of the state

1) The contested nature of the state and statehood in Central Asia
(PhD University of St Andrews, Scotland)

2) Party competitions, political tensions and their influence on
democratic transitions in the CIS (PhD, University of Warsaw)

State-citizen relationships and the construction of "new nations"

3) State-citizen relationships and the construction of "new nations"
(PhD, University of Oslo)

4) Citizenship and Identity in post-Soviet spaces (PhD, Tallinn
University)

Sub-topic 3: Domestic tensions

Tensions between the included and excluded from political processes

1) Identity, conflict and cultural aspects of comparative political
change (PhD University of St Andrews, Scotland)

2) Legislatures and gender in the former Soviet Space (PhD, Dublin
City University)

Tensions between the nation and the state

3) Strategies of symbolic nation-building in post-Soviet states (PhD,
University of Oslo)

4) Socio-economic tensions between ethnic groups resulting from post-
independence nation building (PhD, Tallinn University)

Social tensions

5) Gendered aspects of political transition in the former Soviet
Space (1 Post Doctoral Fellow ER <5, Dublin City University

Doctoral Students will register in the university hosting the project
they apply for and will be governed by the regulations, including
language requirements, of that university (in principle, the doctoral
thesis can be submitted in English in all our partner universities
but course work language has to be negotiated with the university). 
They will undertake course work within their host university,
typically during their first year. In addition all the PhD students
will meet at workshops, summer and winter schools and conferences two
to three times per year, where more specialised and collective
graduate training will be undertaken. All students will be required
to undertake fieldwork in the region, for which some funding will be
available on application. In addition doctoral students, will spend
time in one of the private sector partners (to specialise in one of
the following: consulting for the public and private sector,
information and publishing, social research for private companies).
They will be ex

The Post-Doctoral fellows, will also take part in all network events
during their period of contract and will have access to mentoring and
hosting opportunities in the other partners. Both Doctoral Students
and the post-doctoral fellows will have excellent professional
development supports, career advice, networking opportunities and
financial supports to disseminate their research and attend high
level academic conferences.  As the network is strongly committed to
the dissemination of its collective research outputs beyond the
academy, all participants will also be expected to be involved in
some outreach activities, and will be required to write shorter
policy and public focused articles on their research for the network
website and other appropriate outlets.

Contact details (apply directly to the university you are interested
in. Please notice that different universities have different
recruitment procedures so follow the instructions below):

Dublin City University

Informal enquires to [log in to unmask] 

To apply:

PhD fellowships to [log in to unmask]   

Applications for the post-doctoral position contact [log in to unmask]  

University of Oslo

Informal enquires to: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]

To apply please use the university system: http://uio.easycruit.com/?iso=gb
   

University of St Andrews

Informal enquires to: Sally N. Cummings [log in to unmask] on Sub-Topic
2 and Rick Fawn [log in to unmask] on Sub-Topic 3

Application packages to: Mary Kettle, School of International
Relations, University of St Andrews, The Scores, The Arts Building,
St Andrews, United Kingdom KY16 9AX, email [log in to unmask]  

Forschungsstelle Osteuropa - Research Centre for East European
Studies at the University of Bremen

Informal enquires to Dr Heiko Pleines [log in to unmask]  

Application packages in electronic form only to Dr Heiko Pleines
[log in to unmask]  

Tallinn University

Informal enquires to: [log in to unmask] or Raivo Vetik
[log in to unmask]    

Applications to [log in to unmask]  (NB shortlisted
applicants will be requested to apply for a PhD position via
Dreamapply )

University of Warsaw

Informal enquires to: Dr Paula Marcinkowska [log in to unmask]

Application packages to: [log in to unmask]

A hard copy should be also sent to:
Dr Paula Marcinkowska
Instytut Stosunków Miedzynarodowych
Wydzial Dziennikarstwa i Nauk Politycznych
Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, ul. Zurawia 4, IV pietro
00-503 Warszawa, Poland

NB mobility and seniority rules apply to all fellowships

An applicant who has been carrying out their main activity in a
country for more than 12 months, in the 36 months before their
starting date cannot apply for a fellowship in that country

Pre-doctoral fellowships may be awarded to applicants who at the
deadline:

1) have no more than four years of (full-time equivalent) research
experience after having received their Master's degree

2) are not in possession of a doctoral degree

The post-doctoral fellowship can be awarded only to a fellow who
EITHER has:

1) completed her/his PhD and have less than 12 months of post-
doctoral experience at the deadline of this call

2)been working between four and five years (full-time equivalent) as
researcher

For more information, please consult the Marie Curie guide for
applicants from the latest Marie Curie ITN call

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/people;efp7_SESSION_ID
=LT2KQKLCyn5Z21ySnpmPFNPlpskcPRSpzGTfkQlfH0mHnT9NlD1D!-1027640031?callIdenti
fier=FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN#wlp_call_FP7  

Annex I: List of partners

Full partners:

Dublin City University (Coordinator)

University of Oslo, Department of Literature, Area Studies and
European Languages

University of St Andrews, School of International Relations

Forschungsstelle Osteuropa - Research Centre for East European
Studies at the University of Bremen

Tallinn University, Institute of Governance and Political Science

University of Warsaw, Institute of International Relations

Associate partners:

Caucasus InterConnect (the Netherlands)

GeoWel Research (Georgia)

Ibidem Verlag (Germany)

Levada Centre (Russia)

SIAR Research (Kyrgyzstan)

Transitions Online (the Czech Republic)