As part of a joint research project on the "Politics of Governance --Power and Politics in Africa", the Institute of Social Anthropology and the Centre of African Studies, University of Basel, Switzerland, have two PhD-positions open. The research project seeks to explore processesand actors of governance in urban contexts, with case studies in mid-sized cities in Côte d'Ivoire (political situation permitting) and Kenya.

Subject to funding, the duration of the project will be 1 April
2011 - 31 March 2014.

Salary
According to the guidelines of the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Profile of the candidate
- Masters degree or equivalent in social anthropology, sociology, political science or African studies, with a focus on governance, political processes, social agency, and/or Africa. Minimum grade: merit (>70%).
- Independent and open thinker, interested in developing interdisciplinary theoretical concepts and applying qualitative methods.
- Commitment to working in a small interdisciplinary team.
- Demonstrated ability to undertake research and live for a longer period in a non-European context.
- Demonstrated fluency in English and (for the case study in Côte d’Ivoire) French.

Tasks
- Commitment to develop the PhD-thesis in line with the project proposal.
- Elaboration and strengthening of research project together with the research team.
- Willingness and ability to undertake approx. 12 months fieldwork (3-6 months at the end of the first year; 6-12 months at the end of the second year).
- Organisational support for workshops within the project.
- Publication of research results in international, refereed journals.
- Participation and presentation of research results in international conferences.

Application and Deadline
Please send following documents to Dr Lucy Koechlin by email only (lucy.koechlin-at-unibas.ch) no later than 15 March 2011:

A cover letter stating your motivation and skills, an academic CV,
and the official transcripts of your degrees.