PhD on Infrastructural Imperialism

Are you interested in how people perceive foreign-funded megaprojects that change the spaces where they live and their everyday lives and how such projects shape and influence (geo)politics? This position at the Cultural Anthropology department of Utrecht University may be right for you! You will be part of a dynamic team carrying out research on the politics of foreign infrastructural projects in Eurasia. 

Your job

INFRAEMPIRE is a five-year project that explores the ways that rising economic powers such as Turkey, China, and Brazil rely on building the infrastructure of other states to drive reconstruction in their own capitals and create ‘soft power’ empires. INFRAEMPIRE turns an ethnographic lens on the infrastructural imperialism of the Turkish state, a growing power whose construction sector is reshaping the Global South and for almost two decades drove a domestic economic boom. INFRAEMPIRE will examine the infra-imaginaries, infra-power, and infra-subjectivities that such projects create. 

Infra-imaginaries are those new visions of global futures and new conceptions of the global distribution of power that emerge around such projects. INFRAEMPIRE posits that in contrast to the hierarchical relations of European colonialism, infrastructural imperialism relies upon a global “big brother” phenomenon, or infra-power, in which relations of domination are cast as “equal” and “fraternal.” Infra-subjectivities are those new forms of political subjectivity that require a language beyond that of neoliberal globalisation, with its teleological assumptions of increasing political and economic liberalisation. 

INFRAEMPIRE will examine foreign-funded megaprojects as geopolitical sites in which these new forms of imaginary, power, and subjectivity can be studied. The six case studies will take place at a crucial geopolitical juncture: the seam of Eurasia, where former and aspiring empires intersect, compete, and build new worlds through infrastructure. The aim of INFRAEMPIRE is to theorise the relationship between infrastructure and empire and to offer a fundamentally new understanding of power relations in a globalised world. 

We seek one PhD candidate who has the necessary research experience and language skills to conduct one of the subprojects in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Turkey. 

Requirements

You meet the following requirements:

• You have completed a Master’s degree in anthropology or a related discipline.
• You have demonstrable field research experience and affinity with research in political anthropology, particularly that concerned with infrastructure, materiality, and everyday geopolitics.
• You have well-developed analytical skills.
• You are a motivated and collaborative team member who is also able to work independently.
• You have excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and one of the languages necessary to conduct the case study.

Our offer

• a position for one year, which will be extended to a total of four years after positive evaluation; 
• a gross monthly salary between €2,770 and €3,539 (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU)); 
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus; 
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.  

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University. 

About us

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Shaping science, sharing tomorrow. 

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading faculties in Europe providing research and academic teaching in cultural anthropology, educational sciences, interdisciplinary social science, pedagogical sciences, psychology, and sociology. Almost 7,000 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has some 1,100 faculty and staff members, all providing their individual contribution to the training and education of young talent and to the research into and finding solutions for scientific and societal issues. 

You will be based at the department of Cultural Anthropology. The project will be located in the Sovereignty and Social Contestation Research Programme. The research programme addresses the interaction between power, authority, and legitimacy, which it seeks to connect with social movements, protest, and conflict. 

More information

For more information, please contact Evan Blake at e.blake@uu.nl. 

Please note that international candidates that need a visa/work permit for the Netherlands require at least four months processing time after selection and acceptance. Our International Service Desk (ISD) can answer your questions about living in the Netherlands as international staff. Finding appropriate housing in or near Utrecht is your own responsibility, but the ISD may be able to advise you therewith. In case of general questions about working and living in The Netherlands, please consult the Dutch Mobility Portal. 

Apply now

As Utrecht University, we want to be a home for everyone. We value staff with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including cultural, religious or ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age. We strive to create a safe and inclusive environment in which everyone can flourish and contribute. 

To apply, please send us the following documents via the 'Apply' button above: 

• your curriculum vitae;
• your motivation letter;
• a brief research idea (ca. 1,000 words). 

In the research idea you should explain how you would design and develop one of the case studies, taking into account the project description, your own expertise, experience, and intellectual interests. We expect you to consult the overall project description, which you can obtain by writing Evan Blake at e.blake@uu.nl. 

Interviews will take place in the first half of October. Our preferred start date is 1 January 2025 with some flexibility for international candidates who will require visas. 

The application deadline is 23 August 2024. 

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.