Salary: £37,694 - £46,049 

Term: Fixed Term (24 months)

FTE: 1 (35 hours/week)

Closing Date: 29 May 2026

The Department of Government and Public Policy invites applications from emerging scholars for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to support and contribute to the European Research Council (ERC) project Political Parties in Africa and Democracy (PPADEM). PPADEM is an international research collaboration between the University of Strathclyde, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Bristol, and University of Reading.

The project is designed to discover the key drivers of democratic decline and democratic progress in Africa, by undertaking the largest empirical study of political parties ever carried out anywhere in the world. We ask: (1) What role do political parties play in the process of democratisation in Africa? (2) Under what conditions do they make positive or negative contributions toward defending and expanding democracy? And (3) How can political parties across Africa be supported to help counter the decline of democracy on the continent?

The successful candidate will join an international team of senior and early-career scholars working on political parties, democratic institutions and African politics. They will play a leading role in survey design, data collection and analysis, and will play a key role in building and analysing the project’s cross national data set, with opportunities to present co-authored or sole-authored publications at workshops and conferences with an aim to publish in leading peer-reviewed journals. Starting date – as early as possible. The PPADEM postdoctoral position is for two years, subject to yearly evaluation of tasks fulfilled.

Main Activities/Responsibilities:
1. Collect, analyse and archive country and organizational level data on African political parties
2. Assist in design of research instruments for party headquarters and branch studies, and constituency elite survey
3. Assist in design of sampling strategies for constituency elite surveys and party branch studies
4. Assist with pilot studies of party headquarters, branches and constituency elite surveys
5. Present project research results at local and international workshops and scholarly conferences, and advance individual and team publications with the goal of submission to leading peer-reviewed journals
6. Assist with organisation of project events such as planning meetings and research seminars
7. Participate in skills-sharing activities with the larger community of African politics researchers
8. Assist with stakeholder engagement and dissemination of research findings

Essential Qualifications
PhD in Political Science or closely related social science discipline, no later than the date on which the appointment decision is made.

-Demonstrated skills in survey design
-Demonstrated skills in survey data analysis
-Demonstrated expertise in comparative politics

Desirbable Qualifications
-Publication record commensurate with career stage
-Research coordination / management / liaison experience
-Demonstrated expertise in elections, public opinion, and party politics and/or African politics
-Demonstrated experience in qualitative research methods (e.g. archival/interview research)

Personal Attributes
-Ability to work in, and lead research teams
-Strong organizational skills and eye for detail
-Excellent written and oral proficiency in English

Beside completing Strathclyde’s online application form and providing the name of two referees, applicants should also submit:
- A covering letter detailing the knowledge, skills and experience you think make you the right candidate for the job (maximum two pages)
- Curriculum Vitae, as well as
- A Research Plan outlining your research strategy for the next two years and how it relates to the PPADEM project (maximum two pages). For additional information on the PPADEM project, please see here
- A writing sample (e.g. working paper, recently published journal article/chapter).

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Professor Robert Mattes, (robert.mattes@strath.ac.uk).

Formal interviews will be held week beginning 15 June 2026.