Doctoral Researcher; m​/f​/d Political Institutions and Conflict; Prof. Dr. Ursula Daxecker

The newly founded Max Planck Institute for the Political and Social Science studies contemporary challenges to political, social, and economic life. The institute places special emphasis on the political dimension, thereby spanning the spectrum from political sociology through conflict and peace research to political economy. Rigor and imagination guide the institute’s analytical and empirical approach, which draws inspiration from cross-disciplinary developments.

The institute aims to produce new, evidence-based insights for pressing challenges to policy and contemporary society.

(full-time for three years with a starting date of January 1, 2027)

The newly established Department "Political Institutions and Conflict" (led by Ursula Daxecker) studies the relationship between political institutions and conflict, broadly construed. Conflict is inherent in politics but can be managed peacefully or break out in the open and turn violent. Research in the department explores whether and how political, economic, and social institutions create or reduce the potential for conflict, how structural changes have changed institutions’ ability to manage conflict, and how these shifts affect political outcomes downstream.

Through this research, the department aims to produce novel insights for important challenges in contemporary society, including the rise of extreme strategies and violence, threats to electoral integrity, and democratic erosion.

The PhD candidate will be affiliated with the "Doctoral Network Democratic Institutions and Violence Network in Europe (DIViNE)" project, funded by the HORIZON MSCA action. The candidate will be supervised by Dr. Ursula Daxecker. DIViNE brings together leading European research environments - UvA (Amsterdam), UESSEX (Essex), UMIL (Milan), UC3M (Carlos III de Madrid) and UU (Uppsala) - and partner organizations - including the new Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science - to combine complementary strengths in quantitative conflict research, behavioral and experimental methods, historical and archival inquiry, institutional and normative theory, and applied policy engagement.

Democracies are commonly seen as able to channel contestation through institutionalized processes and nonviolent action. Yet, democratic polities frequently experience a broad range of political violence - from riots and organized electoral intimidation to extremist mobilization and criminal violence - and violence can test and, at times, erode democratic norms and institutions. Moreover, democracies themselves may respond to perceived threats with measures (e.g., militarized policing, emergency legislation, selective repression) that threaten to undermine core features of liberal democracy such as the rule of law, civil liberties and institutional impartiality.

The DIViNE Doctoral Network (Democratic Institutions and Violence Network in Europe) consolidates comparative, historical, theoretical and methodological strands to build a coherent new research program on political violence in democracies.

The position is part of WP3 on Dynamics of Support for Violent Movements and Responses, which focuses on the micro-foundations of public support for, and tolerance of, political violence, including how violent organizations cultivate legitimacy. The PhD project aims to explain variation in violent strategies across time and space, distinguishing between violent rhetorical and behavioural strategies. The project is also interested in understanding the relationship between rhetoric and behaviour, and how both strategies shape outcomes…