Research Associate (Post-doc, f/m) in Urban or Cultural Studies - Ref : 26-15

The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)

is recruiting a

Research Associate (Post-doc, f/m) in Urban Studies, Cultural Studies, or Communication Sciences

• Ref : 26-15
• 24 months fixed-term contract
• Full-time, 40hours/week
• Department: Urban Development and Mobility (UDM)
• Work location: Belval (Luxembourg)
• Deadline to submit applications : May 31st, 2026 at midnight CET
• Foreseen start date : September 1st, 2026

Project description

The Research Associate will be employed within the framework of the R²CULT research project (Mainstreaming the Radical Right at the Urban Scale: An Investigation of the Discourses and Policies in the European Capitals of Culture). This project is funded under the WEAVE program and involves the following partners: the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (Germany), the Department of Human Geography and Regional Development at the University of Ostrava (Czechia), and the Urban Development and Mobility Department of LISER (Luxembourg).

The objective of the R²CULT project is to analyse the normalisation processes of the radical right in Europe within the field of cultural policies. It is based on a comparative analysis of the discourses and policies of cities implementing the European Capital of Culture initiative that are characterized by support for the radical right within the urban and regional electorate.

Until now, the normalization of the radical right in Europe has primarily been analysed in relation to European Union external policies (migration, development aid, enlargement processes). The R²CULT project aims to identify this normalisation at the urban scale when culture is at the heart of public policies conducted within a European framework—particularly when culture is mobilized to ensure the regeneration of marginalised urban spaces.

The R²CULT project is therefore situated at the intersection of communication studies identifying the normalisation of the radical right and research relating to urban transformations through cultural policies for territorial cohesion purposes. The research is based on a critical analysis of discourses produced around urban regeneration through culture, specifically those of radical right actors. The comparative analysis takes into consideration the following six case studies: Esch 2022 (Luxembourg/France), Veszprém 2023 (Hungary), Bad Ischl 2024 (Austria), Nova Gorica/Gorizia 2025 (Slovenia/Italy), Chemnitz 2025 (Germany) and Trenčín 2026 (Slovakia).

Your missions

The successful candidate will have the following responsibilities:

• Assist the LISER PI in collecting discourses associated with the Esch 2022 and Nova Gorica/Gorizia 2025 case studies. Collected materials may include interviews, strategic documents, political minutes, mass media texts, and social media posts addressing cultural issues in urban Europe ;
• Code the collected texts into a MAXQDA database to facilitate comparative analysis with researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (Germany) and the University of Ostrava (Czech Republic) ;
• Analyze the coded data in collaboration with LISER's international partners ;
• Prepare at least two articles for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals indexed in Scopus.

Your profile

• • PhD in a relevant field of social sciences (e.g., Urban Studies, Cultural Policies, Communication Sciences) ;
  • Proven expertise in qualitative research methods, specifically in (critical) discourse analysis and social media analysis ;
  • Proficiency in qualitative research software (e.g., NVivo, MAXQDA) ;
  • Strong understanding of the radical right in Europe ;
  • Knowledge of urban and cultural policies within the European Union;
  • Scientific publications in urban studies, cultural studies, critical discourse analysis, or communication sciences ;
  • Proficiency in French (key language of the case studies followed by LISER) and good command of English (working language of the research consortium and language of future research articles with proofreading support). Knowledge of Italian or Luxembourgish is considered an asset ;
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary and multicultural research team.

   

  LISER particularly encourages female researchers to apply

What we offer

• A dynamic and international research environment with attractive working conditions and a stimulating work environment ;
• Flexibility in the organisation of the working hours and the possibility of teleworking ;
• Competitive remuneration according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in force (half of a 13th month salary, meal vouchers, etc.) ;
• Investment in career support and development (trainings, seminars, participation to international meetings and conferences) ;
• 32.5 days of annual leave for a full-time contract.

How to apply

Please submit your complete application in English via https://jobs.liser.lu/jobs by including the following documents before May 31st, 2026:

• Your curriculum vitae ;
• Motivation letter ;
• A recent piece of research ;
• A copy of your PhD diploma;
• 2 reference letters (to be sent separately per email to recruitment@liser.lu).

Deadline to submit applications: May 31st, 2026 at midnight CET

Please note that interviews will be conducted in English

For any content-related questions, please contact Dr. Christian LAMOUR at christian.lamour@liser.lu

For administrative matters, please contact Mrs. Vanya KIROVA at recruitment@liser.lu

Why LISER?

LISER is a publicly funded research institute located in Luxembourg and dedicated to applied empirical research in economic, social and spatial sciences. The Institute attracts top researchers from all over the world and high-level student training is a vibrant part of the Institute’s activities. LISER staff consists of approx. 200 employees, about 60% of the staff being researchers; mainly from the fields of economics, geography and sociology. The vision of the institute is to be a socio-economic research institute internationally recognised, focused on scientific excellence and societal impact, able to contribute through multi-disciplinary and intersectoral research, in an active and inclusive way to a sustainable and inclusive society at national and international level.

The institute is located on the new Belval campus in the south of Luxembourg (Cité des Sciences, Luxembourg), which hosts the University of Luxembourg and a substantial part of the country’s publicly funded research facilities, i.e. LISER, the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) cross-national data centre, the Luxembourg institutes of Health (LIH) and of Science and Technology (LIST). Information on research in Luxembourg is accessible via the national EURAXESS platform.

LISER is an Equal Opportunity Employer