Research Associate; Post-Doctoral Researcher

The Role

The Department of International Politics is inviting applications for a position as Research Associate to conduct research as part of the ESRC-funded Secondary Data Analysis project “The Unarmed Civilian Protection in South Sudan Dataset”.

The Research Associate will work closely with Project Lead Prof Berit Bliesemann de Guevara and Visiting Researcher Dr Luke Abbs on turning project partner Nonviolent Peace force’s existing rich text data into a gold-standard numerical dataset suitable for quantitative analysis. Tasks include creating a codebook, coding a major part of the primary incident data, and analysing the data. The Research Associate will co‑author all research outputs, participate in the training of the project partner’s staff, and have the opportunity to present preliminary project findings at relevant conferences.

The successful candidate will be well versed in quantitative research in the field(s) of conflict, humanitarianism, peacekeeping, nonviolent resistance, or similar.

For informal enquiry please contact the Project Lead, Prof Berit Bliesemann de Guevara, at

Appointments are normally made within 4 - 8 weeks of the closing date.

This job description is subject to review and amendment in the light of the changing needs of the University, to provide appropriate development opportunities and/or the addition of any other reasonable duties.

• In collaboration with the Project Lead and the Visiting Researcher, create a gold-standard new dataset using Nonviolent Peace force’s text data, specifically conceptualising key variables, sampling primary data, and hand‑coding a major part of the incident data.
• Support the delivery of project outputs, including the creation of a codebook and toolkit for this dataset, participate in the training of the project partner’s staff, and analyse the data using appropriate methodology.
• Co‑write and publish academic articles, training manuals, and policy briefs.
• Facilitate dissemination, impact, and knowledge sharing activities, including presenting findings at a major academic conference.
• Engage and communicate with project partner Nonviolent Peace force and other stakeholders.
• Organise and facilitate online and offline capacity‑building activities for project partner Nonviolent Peace force and other stakeholders.
• Participate in and contribute to departmental research events and the wider research community, e.g. a presentation at the International Politics Research Seminar.
• Liaise with research‑relevant departments at Aberystwyth University as required.
• Undertake other duties as assigned by your line manager, commensurate with the role’s grade.
• Promote equality of opportunity, and to support and uphold the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of your work.

The need for effective protection of civilians from armed violence is growing globally. Unarmed civilian protection (UCP) – a non‑violent mechanism used by civilians to protect other civilians and/or themselves from physical harm in contexts of violent conflict – has become a significant source of safety for many civilians in violent contexts. The expansion of UCP practice is reflected in a growing body of UCP research, but which at date has been predominantly qualitative in nature.

The very limited attempts at quantitatively evaluating the protective impact of UCP and inform best practice are not least due to the fact that there is no publicly available dataset on UCP.

Building on recent innovations in non‑violent resistance and peacekeeping literatures, this project will make a much‑needed quantitative contribution to the study and practice of UCP by creating the world’s first comprehensive quantitative dataset on UCP initiatives: the Unarmed Civilian Protection in South Sudan (UCP‑SS) Dataset. To this end, the project partners with Nonviolent Peace force (NP), the world’s largest UCP organisation, using existing primary data collected by NP’s South Sudan mission to create a new dataset on UCP activities and types of violence in South Sudan and conduct first in‑depth analyses of UCP effectiveness and trends across…