Research Fellow Ideas of Anti-Autocratic Movements

Research Fellow in the Ideas of Anti-Autocratic Movements  (Fixed Term) Location

Brighton, UK

Full time, 37.5 hours. Requests for flexible working options will be considered (subject to business need).

Grade 7 starting at £38,784 per annum, pro rata if part time.

Fixed Term Contract

NEW REPUBLIC is a €1.5 million research project funded by the European Research Council. It asks: what ideas animate anti-autocratic movements in Africa? You will play a central role in that project alongside the principal investigator, another research fellow, a PhD student and a communication officer.

You will co-lead the project's content analysis. You will generate and analyse a large multi-country dataset of movement speech. In parallel, you will undertake your own autonomous research project on the ideas of anti-autocratic movements in Africa, which will extend, enrich or complicate the foundational ideas of NEW REPUBLIC. Altogether, you will coauthor at least three articles for publication in respected peer-reviewed journals.

More widely, you will be pivotal to the success of NEW REPUBLIC. You will present at conferences, contribute to international dissemination and feed into follow-on funding applications. The role is intended to set you up for a career in academia.

The ideal candidate will want to put the animating ideas of anti-autocratic movements at the heart of their research agenda, for the duration of the project, and for years to come.

You will be fluent (to at least C1 level) in a language spoken in Africa, other than English. It would be particularly advantageous if you were fluent in French, Portuguese, Luganda, or Swahili.

• A PhD in political science or a closely related subject
• A record of publications in peer-reviewed journals, commensurate with career stage.
• Expertise in autocratic politics and/or democratic struggle in Africa.
• Expertise in methodologies of rule-bound content analysis of text.
• Expertise in the analysis of ideology, discourse, performance or another lens onto meaning-making.
• An excellent proposal for an independent research project to extend, enrich or complicate the foundational ideas of NEW REPUBLIC (no more than 1,000 words, excluding references).

It would be advantageous if you had:

• Expertise in the politics of francophone, lusophone, or eastern Africa
• Experience in management, supervision, or quality-control within or beyond the academy.
• Experience of public engagement, for example in op-eds, policy briefs, or public seminars.

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Visa Sponsorship Queries:
This role has been assigned an eligible SOC code and meets the salary requirements for Skilled Worker Sponsorship if full time and appointed at Grade 7.4. Please consult our Skilled Worker Visa information page for further information about Visa Sponsorship.

The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK.

Please contact NEW REPUBLIC principal investigator, Dr. Dan Paget, at  for informal enquiries.

January 2027 or earlier, subject to discussion

Fixed term until 30 September 2028