Dear friends and colleagues,

I would be most grateful of you could circulate the PhD vacancy below to potentially interested candidates!

Very best wishes

Marieke

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PhD Position Data Wars: New Spaces of Governing in the European War on Terror

University of Amsterdam

Faculty of Humanities

The Faculty of Humanities offers teaching and research programs with a strong international profile, within a large number of disciplines in the domains of language and culture. The Faculty is located in the center of Amsterdam and maintains intensive contacts with many cultural organizations in the capital. The Faculty has almost a thousand employees, and its teaching programs are followed by ca. 6,500 stude nts. See: http://www.hum.uva.nl/object.cfm

The Research Institute for Culture and History (ICG) has programs in Archaeology, History, Literature, Art & Cultural Heritage, the Golden Age, and European Studies. The emphasis lies on studying European culture from a historical perspective. The European Studies Research programme has a vacancy for a

PhD Position

full-time (3 years) or part-time, for at least for 0,75 fte (appr. 4 years)

For both internal and external candidates.

The successful applicant will work within the joint Netherlands-UK research project Data Wars: New Spaces of Governing in the European War on Terror. Data Wars examines the new spaces of governing that emerge through the deployment of commercial data in post-9/11 security practices. The idea that data offer the solution to problems of security risk has quickly established itself at the forefront of what has come to be known as the war on terror. This means that data previously held only by commercial institutions, such as banks and airlines, now becomes deployed for state security purposes. With a specific focus on data deployed to govern the mobility of people and the mobility of money, Data Wars is concerned with the societal implications of what are often considered 'smart' security solutions.

Data Wars is funded by the NWO-ESRC bilateral programme, and involves cooperation between the University of Amsterdam and Durham University, UK.

The PhD candidate, based in Amsterdam, will research how financial data are used to address security risks in the European war on terror. Financial information occupies a special place within data-led security practices. Commercial data held by financial institutions such as banks and wire transfer companies now become deployed for state security purposes. This element manifests itself in practice through the surveillance of data in the Brussels-based SWIFT system, as well as through the Third European Money Laundering Directive, which takes effect in member states in 2007.

Activities

The candidate is expected to research and complete a Ph.D. dissertation within a period of three years (four years in the case of a part-time position). The dissertation is expected to be written in English, and the job interviews will be also conducted in English. Annual meetings with the UK-based research team will take place.

Appointment

The intention is for the appointment to start on 1 February 2008, in temporary employment for a period of one year. After completing this first year successfully, the candidate will be employed for a further two years. The gross monthly salary will be in accordance with the University regulations for academic personnel, and will range from € 2,279 to a maximum of  € 2,502.

Requirements

The candidate must have a (research) MA or drs degree in European Studies, Political Science, Human Geography, or other relevant academic fields. Fluency in English is a prerequisite.

Information

For further information, candidates can contact Dr M. de Goede, Department of European Studies, University of Amsterdam, Spuistraat 134, 1012VB, Amsterdam, +31 20 525 6178, [log in to unmask]

Application

Those wishing to apply should send their letter of application in English, together with a CV, a specimen of their written work (no more than 10 pages) and references, to the Institute of Culture and History, drs. P.J. Koopman,  Spuistraat 134, 1012 VB, Amsterdam. Applications have to be submitted before 19 November 2007. Interviews will probably be held in the week of December 3.