Vacant job

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is consistently ranked among the world's leading universities. There are approximately 46,000 students and 8,500 employees in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our strive to understand, explain, and improve our world and people's conditions.

The Position

We welcome applications for a two-year postdoctoral position at the Department of Sociology of Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University, within the framework of the WASP-HS project "Vulnerability in the Swedish Welfare State", jointly led by Docent Jannice Käll and Guest Professor Sofia Ranchordas. The position should be taken up no later than January 1, 2027.

Project Focus

In Scandinavia, welfare states have become increasingly digitized and automated over the past few decades. This development has led to significant improvements in public services, streamlined administrative decision-making processes, and enhanced interactions between authorities and citizens for the majority.

At the same time, the digitization and automation of welfare systems have excluded thousands of citizens who lack the ability to critically handle digital technology. Furthermore, digital tools have not been used to address long-standing structural problems and inequalities.

A substantial body of critical research has highlighted the risks of algorithmic bias, the digital exclusion of individuals who already have limited access to their welfare rights, and reduced accountability resulting from reliance on opaque algorithmic processes. Despite this, many aspects remain insufficiently explored.

This project aims to examine, from an empirical and interdisciplinary perspective, how digital technology both reflects and reinforces underlying structural and systemic inequalities, shapes the political and moral dimensions of the welfare state, and influences how Swedish authorities perceive welfare recipients.

In collaboration with other members of the project group, the project will also investigate – and potentially contribute to developing – new ways for Swedish authorities to handle these challenges, strengthen citizen participation, reduce structural vulnerability, and provide individuals with better opportunities to navigate an increasingly automated welfare system.

Responsibilities

• Conduct empirical research (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods) on how Swedish authorities interact with citizens in the governance of automated welfare.
• Analyze how citizen participation initiatives handle vulnerability, exclusion, and empowerment in the automated welfare state.
• Study the legal and governance frameworks affecting the use of AI and automated decision-making (ADM) in welfare.
• Publish research in leading scientific journals and contribute to the dissemination of results within and outside academia.
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary research group in law, vulnerability, legal sociology, and public administration.

Requirements

• A PhD degree (completed or close to completion) in legal sociology, law, STS (Science and Technology Studies), political science, public administration, sociology, or related fields.
• Strong and documented competence in empirical research methods (e.g., interviews, ethnography, surveys, case studies).
• Demonstrated interest in vulnerability, welfare state governance, digitization, and civil rights.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in Swedish (C1/C2) and English.
• Ability to work independently while contributing to an international and collaborative research environment.

We Offer

• An stimulating interdisciplinary research environment with the opportunity to shape an emerging research field.
• Opportunity to participate in the broad WASP-HS network and its interdisciplinary activities.
• Funding for fieldwork in Sweden and participation in international conferences.
• Supervision, publication support, and career development opportunities.
• Salary and employment conditions according to university guidelines.

Application

Please submit the following documents in a single PDF:

• Cover letter (max 2 pages) describing your motivation, research interests, and suitability for the project.
• CV including a publication list.
• A writing sample (e.g., article or dissertation chapter).
• A research plan for your project (5 pages).
• Contact details for two academic references.

The Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University is one of the country's leading knowledge centers for research and education in the social and behavioral sciences. With operations in both Lund and Helsingborg, over 700 employees, and approximately 5,700 full-time equivalent students, the faculty is one of Lund University's largest. We offer a creative academic environment with engaged students and staff. Our main task is to develop, disseminate, and manage knowledge about society, humans, and organizations in an environment characterized by openness, tolerance, and curiosity.

Legal Sociology at Lund University is a social science discipline that studies the relationship between law and society, such as the tension between the state's formal legislation and informal norm formation in, for example, civil society. Research is conducted in fields such as gender and discrimination, AI and machine learning, children's rights, welfare, legal cultures, corruption, migration, economic security, and crime. The department offers courses at all levels. The department also runs the undergraduate program in criminology in collaboration with the Department of Sociology. The Department of Sociology of Law strives to collaborate across subject and disciplinary boundaries and has good contacts with practitioners and authorities.

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