Postdoctoral Researcher in terrorism and political violence; fte

What you will do

The successful candidate will conduct research on terrorism and political violence and assist with teaching across several programs within the institute, including the MSc in Crisis and Security Management.

• Conduct independent and collaborative research with the research group Terrorism and Political Violence on topics related to hostile state interference, political violence, disinformation, or (counter-)terrorism.
• Collect and analyze data on one or several of the topics mentioned above.
• Produce high-quality co‑authored outputs for both academic and non‑academic audiences, with a focus on international, peer‑reviewed journals.
• Work within a multidisciplinary team across the Terrorism and Political Violence research group and other research groups within the Institute, supporting the development and implementation of the Institute’s research strategy.
• Assist in teaching courses in minor, bachelor, and master programs within the institute, including the MSc in Crisis and Security Management.
• Supervise theses and capstone projects.

Our priority is to hire an excellent candidate who can contribute to the research of the research group Terrorism and Political Violence by enhancing and complementing the research agenda of the group, while also assisting in teaching. This opportunity will help the candidate prepare for the next step in their academic career.

The position offers a unique opportunity to conduct research on how evolving technologies, the rise of new threat actors, and shifting modes of operation are reshaping threats related to radicalization, extremism and political violence in Europe.

• Hostile state interference in Europe as conducted by Russia, China, Iran and others.
• The use of new and emerging technologies, such as drones or AI, by criminals, terrorists and hostile states.
• The role of disinformation and conspiracy theories in shaping citizens’ security perceptions and how states might counter such influences.
• How radicalization and political violence related to climate change can directly or indirectly affect European states’ security.
• The emergence of contemporary forms of extremism and terrorism.

The mission of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA) is to contribute to society through high‑quality interdisciplinary education and scientific knowledge. FGGA addresses contemporary issues such as terrorism, security, artificial intelligence and governance solutions, through collaboration with academic and societal partners, preparing students for substantial societal contributions.

FGGA is one of the seven faculties of Leiden University. It comprises three scientific institutes, two centres, over 3,700 students and 425 staff members.

The Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) is a scientific institute specialising in security issues, part of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs of Leiden University. ISGA analyses and studies security issues with local, national, transnational and global impact, including crises, intelligence, terrorism, war, violence and cybercrime, with a multidisciplinary research approach.

ISGA is based in the residential city of The Hague, the international city of peace, justice and security. Inspiring interactions are maintained with other knowledge institutions, regional, national and international governments, the private sector and NGOs.

In this team, we are looking for someone who can work independently. If some of the work activities are new to you, we will look together at what you need and draw up a development plan. The position is a good fit if you recognise yourself in the following:

• A PhD degree in criminology, political science, public administration, war studies, or a related field relevant to researching and teaching terrorism and political violence.
• Demonstrable research experience in hostile state interference, disinformation and conspiracy theories, radicalization, extremism, and/or terrorism.
• Experience working with or implementing NLP and/or LLMs is a plus but not required.
• Outstanding research qualities demonstrated by a developing and promising…