Postdoctoral Research Scholar School of Politics and Global Studies

Arizona State University:
Office of the University Provost Tempe:
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:
School of Politics and Global Studies Location

Tempe

Feb 27, 2025

The School of Politics and Global Studies (SPGS) at Arizona State University (ASU) invites applications for a full-time postdoctoral research scholar as part of an NSF-funded grant project to code new data on economic restrictions. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible, fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) one-year position. The salary is $61,008.

The Government‑imposed Restrictions on International Economic Relations (GRIER) project is an NSF‑funded research endeavor designed to complement and add to existing sanctions data while pushing forward the scholarly study of sanctions. Using each “restriction” (the specific prohibited interaction) as the unit of analysis, the project will code all government‑mandated restrictions by the US, EU, and UN on the international flow of goods, services, money, finance, and investment, as well as restrictions on travel, media, and diplomacy for the years spanning 1992 to 2023.

The project will also construct time‑varying, comparable indicators of the comprehensiveness and severity of each economic restriction for the target. The GRIER dataset will be used to test systematically two broad research questions. First, what affects the composition and severity of government‑imposed economic restrictions against target states—whether specifically against governments, individuals, or other entities? Second, how does the composition of economic restrictions affect not only the likelihood of target concession, but the broader reshaping of economic and political networks?

Job description:

The postdoctoral research scholar will work under the supervision of Principal Investigator Timothy M. Peterson and with Co‑PI Dursun Peksen (U. Memphis) to collect and manage data spanning . The position will also offer opportunities to conduct and publish research in peer‑reviewed outlets. Primary activities will include data collection, evaluation, and analysis related to the determinants of (kinds and combinations of) economic restrictions, as well as the consequence of economic restrictions for economic and political relationships.

This is an in-person, academic year, benefits‑eligible appointment. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2025.

Required qualifications:

• A PhD in Political Science, International Relations, Computer Science, Economics, or a related field conferred by the time of appointment, but no earlier than Spring of 2023.
• Demonstrated experience in data collection and management.
• Evidence of programming understanding and experience with R (preferred), Python, or Stata.
• Demonstrated advanced methods skills in one or more of the following:
• Quantitative text analysis and machine learning
• Web scraping
• Network modeling
• Spatial econometrics
• Item response modeling
• Excellent organizational and communication skills

Desired qualifications:

• Substantive research experience in one or more of the following topics:
• Economic sanctions
• Export controls
• Commodity trade and supply chains
• Armed conflict
• Deterrence (broadly defined)
• Demonstrated commitment to working with faculty, staff, students and communities to advance the principles of the ASU Charter.

Applications and Inquiries:

This is a paperless search, and only materials submitted electronically will be considered.

Application materials should include:

The Final date to receive applications is March 28, 2025; if not filled, then every two weeks thereafter until the search is closed.

Interested applicants may contact Timothy M. Peterson at tmpete
15 with questions, or for a copy of the NSF project description.