Post-Doctoral Researcher on Critical Democracy

JOB TITLE AND CLASSIFICATION

Post-doctoral researcher (CDD)

DUE DATE FOR APPLICATIONS

Applications due, September 1, 2025

DEPARTMENT

Center for Critical Democracy Studies, American University of Paris

SUPERVISOR

Stephen Sawyer, Director of the Center for Critical Democracy Studies

DATES OF POSITION

September 15, 2025 to June 15, 2025 (9 months)

Fields: Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Comparative Law, History, Political Philosophy, Political Science

The Center for Critical Democracy Studies at the American University of Paris is offering a position of a postdoctoral research fellow to (1) work on “COntinuous COnstruction of resilient social Contracts (CO3)”, supported by the European Commission’s Horizon-Europe program led by Stephen Sawyer and Roman Zinigrad that studies more open, inclusive, and democratic models of social contracts in Europe, and (2) kick-start a new “Law, State, and Democracy” initiative in the fields of administrative and constitutional law.

RESPONSIBILITIES

CO3 Project

• Develop, in dialogue with the PI the research, guidelines and deliverables.
• Complete necessary country reports and data on social contracts.
• Maintain correspondence with the other teams completing country reports from all PIs for other countries.
  • Regular reminders of deadlines for drafts
  • Responding to any questions regarding the work package deliverables
  • Reviewing and returning drafts of country reports for work package deliverables
  • Writing and editing final country reports
  • Providing regular updates concerning progress
  
  

Law, State, and Democracy Initiative

• Help coordinate and organize a new initiative, “Law, State, and Democracy”, on the role of the administrative state in sustaining democratic resilience and protection of individual rigths.
• Organize an interdisciplinary “Law, State and Democracy” Symposium in December 2025.

Other Duties

• Keep the CCDS website up to date with regards to CO3/”Law, State, and Democracy” and liaise with the AUP Communications team with regular updates on progress and events related to OppAttune and the Center for Critical Democracy Studies.
• Organize at least 2 events (talks, symposia, visits) per semester related to democracy at the Center for Critical Democracy Studies.

QUALIFICATIONS

• PhD or terminating degree in Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Comparative Law, Philosophy, Political Science, History or related field.
• Able to write in English, comfortable working in multiple languages including French
• Experience working in teams, completing projects with multiple participants, and meeting important deadlines.
• Ability to multi-task, manage workflow and deliver according to deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and team skills and the ability to collaborate with colleagues and to work closely and effectively with a variety of constituencies including but not limited to alumni, administrators, faculty, and students.
• Familiarity with the American and French educational systems is a plus.

DUE DATE FOR APPLICATIONS

Applications due, September 1, 2025, submitted to CCDSaup.edu.

Applications should include:

For more information about the Center for Critical Democracy Studies, its community, research projects, events, and other initiatives, please visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky. Contact: CCDSaup.edu.