10-20% at the Department of European Studies and Slavic Studies at the University of Fribourg
Job details
The Department of European Studies and Slavic Studies at University of Fribourg is looking for student research assistants to support research on nationalist movements around the world, as part of the SNSF Ambizione project “Subnational tyrannies of the majority“.
The starting date is January 1, 2026, or upon mutual agreement. The positions are limited until September 2026, with possible extension, depending on the state of the project and budget at this point.
Project background
The main goal of the project is to collect information on the nationalist ideology and nation-building projects of separatist movements around the world since World War II. For instance, this includes nationalist movements in Catalonia, Scotland, Aceh, Tibet, and Western Sahara, among many others. Using this data, this research project will study the causes and consequences of subnational nation-building policies in regions claimed and ruled by separatist movements around the world. The project and data collection is overseen by Dr. Andreas Juon.
We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents:
- CV
- A short introduction about you
- Academic records and/or relevant work references
Responsibilities
The tasks include the following: 1. Country-wise research: reading country-wise historical overviews, identifying additional secondary sources, and conducting brief web research on specific separatist movements and ethnic groups in their claimed territory. 2. On the basis of these sources, coding variables that measure these movements’ ideology and their relations to the various ethnic groups settling in their claimed territory (e.g., patterns of recruitment and support). 3. Documenting the coding decisions by writing short narratives (usually ~2 pages) for each movement.
Skills
- We are looking for proactive, motivated, and well-organized persons, who are studying political science or a related discipline at either the Master or advanced Bachelor level. We cannot consider applications from unrelated disciplines.
- Interest and previous studies or work on nationalism, populism, or ethnic conflict are an advantage.
- You should be able to speak and write clearly in English.
- You should be based in Switzerland and ideally be able to participate in a monthly meeting with other researchers in the project.
Starting date
01.01.2026 or upon agreement
Questions
Andreas Juon
andreas.juon@unifr.ch
Date at which applications will be reviewed
31.10.2025
How to apply
The application documents should be directed to Andreas Juon andreas.juon@unifr.ch.
Andreas Juon 