Why do some citizens support far-right political parties and candidates, and what role do perceptions of threat play in shaping their political attitudes and behavior?
How do these relationships vary across social and political contexts?We invite applications for a PhD position within an interdisciplinary research project investigating the relationships between authoritarian attitudes, perceived threats, and support for the far right.
Bringing together perspectives from social psychology and political science, the ARC advanced project aims to develop an integrated theoretical framework and generate new empirical evidence on the psychological and contextual factors underlying political polarization, intolerance, and support for far-right politics.An important empirical component of the project concerns Belgium, with a particular focus on Brussels.
As a highly diverse urban context characterized by significant socioeconomic inequalities, Brussels offers an especially valuable setting in which to investigate how social and political contexts shape threat perceptions and political behavior.The project also aims to contribute to joint survey research around the Belgian electoral cycles of 2029 and 2030, including voter surveys and research on local electoral contexts.
The candidate will have opportunities to engage in collaborative data collection and interdisciplinary research activities across the participating teams.
Job description: The vacancy involves a 3.5-year paid, fulltime position as a PhD student, starting on 1 January 2027, in the
CESCUP research group at the faculty of Psychology, Educational sciences and Speech therapy, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research environment at the intersection of social psychology and political science.