Political underrepresentation and emerging publics
This PhD project examines how local democracy is experienced and shaped within diverse communities in Amsterdam, against a backdrop of growing urban political inequality in which some groups remain structurally underrepresented and less connected to political participation and representation.
The central question is how people within underrepresented communities develop: (1) strategies for political participation (both formal and informal), (2) democratic publics, and (3) reflexivity: the capacity to reflect on their own political position, their communities, and their relationship to broader democratic processes such as voting and (experienced) political representation.
The project examines how underrepresented communities develop political participation, democratic publics, and reflexivity, with particular attention to migration-rooted communities in multicultural Amsterdam and questions of representation and belonging. It investigates how publics emerge around shared concerns, experiences, and initiatives in both offline and online settings, and how digital environments shape new forms of engagement, interaction, and collective reflection. By focusing on these dynamics, the project aims to generate insights that contribute to broader debates on urban democracy, inclusion, and political participation beyond Amsterdam.
In addition to using conventional qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork, the PhD candidate will contribute to the development of new research methods that align with the lived realities of communities. This may involve experimenting with participatory methods, digital ethnography, or new ways of capturing interaction and meaning-making within both physical and online publics. The project may also include a comparative dimension to extend the research beyond Amsterdam, either by adding another city as a case study or studying how publics form across cities.
The PhD project will be supervised by Dr. Floris Vermeulen, Dr. Marcel Maussen, and Dr. Jessica Soedirgo. Applicants are invited to develop a research proposal based on this project outline. The proposal allows you to specify and elaborate how you intend to address the questions posed in this advertisement. The template for the proposal can be found at *. The proposal needs to be included in the application package.
What are you going to do
- Study how underrepresented groups engage in political participation, form democratic publics, and relate to local political institutions, with the broader aim of understanding how urban democracy can become more representative and inclusive.
- Conduct qualitative fieldwork (interviews, ethnography) within diverse communities in Amsterdam
- Develop and apply innovative, participatory and digital research methods
- Analyse how local democracy is experienced in contexts of political inequality
- Contribute to academic debates and produce a PhD dissertation and publications
- Teach in our educational programmes (10% of appointment)
What do you have to offer
Candidates must have:
- Dutch proficiency
- A master’s degree in the social sciences or humanities (with experience with social scientific research methods), with a specialization in qualitative methods
- Experience working with diverse immigrant-origin communities
Crucially, candidates are expected to have familiarity with the community or communities they aim to study, enabling them to conduct research from within rather than from a distance. We particularly encourage applicants who can bridge academic and community worlds and who are motivated to co-produce knowledge that is both scientifically rigorous and socially meaningful.
What do we have to offer
We offer a temporary employment contract of 38 hours per week for a maximum term of four years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment, this term will be extended by a maximum of three years, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. You will attend courses offered by the AISSR and the Graduate School of Social Sciences as part of the PhD program. In addition to doing research, publicizing your findings, and participating in academic events, you will be involved in teaching (roughly 10% of your time).
For this position the University Job Classification profile “Promovendus” applies. Your salary will be €3,059 gross per month in the first year and will increase to €3,881 in the final year, based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.
You will work here
This PhD position is embedded within the Department of Political Science and the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR). Political Science at the UvA is one of the leading political science departments in Europe. It strives to be inclusive of all major theoretical, substantive and methodological colours in political science. The AISSR is the research school for faculty members and PhD candidates from the Departments of Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, and Geography, Planning, and International Development. It is committed to fundamental and engaged research that pushes the boundaries of the social sciences.
The PhD position is part of the AISSR Amsterdam Program, which recruits eight PhD candidates across the institute’s four departments. The candidates will form a cohort and collaborate on innovative research methods that generate value for both the city of Amsterdam and the social sciences. All PhD candidates in the program will receive doctoral training from the AISSR and be affiliated with the Center for Urban Studies as well as the Urban Impact Lab.
Are you passionate about researching democracy and political inequality? Do you want to make a real impact in urban communities? Join this PhD project exploring how underrepresented groups in Amsterdam shape political participation, build publics, and redefine local democracy. Work closely with communities, develop innovate methods, and contribute to cutting-edge debates on political inequality.
Political underrepresentation and emerging publics
This PhD project examines how local democracy is experienced and shaped within diverse communities in Amsterdam, against a backdrop of growing urban political inequality in which some groups remain structurally underrepresented and less connected to political participation and representation.
The central question is how people within underrepresented communities develop: (1) strategies for political participation (both formal and informal), (2) democratic publics, and (3) reflexivity: the capacity to reflect on their own political position, their communities, and their relationship to broader democratic processes such as voting and (experienced) political representation.
The project examines how underrepresented communities develop political participation, democratic publics, and reflexivity, with particular attention to migration-rooted communities in multicultural Amsterdam and questions of representation and belonging. It investigates how publics emerge around shared concerns, experiences, and initiatives in both offline and online settings, and how digital environments shape new forms of engagement, interaction, and collective reflection. By focusing on these dynamics, the project aims to generate insights that contribute to broader debates on urban democracy, inclusion, and political participation beyond Amsterdam.
In addition to using conventional qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork, the PhD candidate will contribute to the development of new research methods that align with the lived realities of communities. This may involve experimenting with participatory methods, digital ethnography, or new ways of capturing interaction and meaning-making within both physical and online publics. The project may also include a comparative dimension to extend the research beyond Amsterdam, either by adding another city as a case study or studying how publics form across cities.
The PhD project will be supervised by Dr. Floris Vermeulen, Dr. Marcel Maussen, and Dr. Jessica Soedirgo. Applicants are invited to develop a research proposal based on this project outline. The proposal allows you to specify and elaborate how you intend to address the questions posed in this advertisement. The template for the proposal can be found at *. The proposal needs to be included in the application package.
What are you going to do
- Study how underrepresented groups engage in political participation, form democratic publics, and relate to local political institutions, with the broader aim of understanding how urban democracy can become more representative and inclusive.
- Conduct qualitative fieldwork (interviews, ethnography) within diverse communities in Amsterdam
- Develop and apply innovative, participatory and digital research methods
- Analyse how local democracy is experienced in contexts of political inequality
- Contribute to academic debates and produce a PhD dissertation and publications
- Teach in our educational programmes (10% of appointment)
What do you have to offer
Candidates must have:
- Dutch proficiency
- A master’s degree in the social sciences or humanities (with experience with social scientific research methods), with a specialization in qualitative methods
- Experience working with diverse immigrant-origin communities
Crucially, candidates are expected to have familiarity with the community or communities they aim to study, enabling them to conduct research from within rather than from a distance. We particularly encourage applicants who can bridge academic and community worlds and who are motivated to co-produce knowledge that is both scientifically rigorous and socially meaningful.
What do we have to offer
We offer a temporary employment contract of 38 hours per week for a maximum term of four years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment, this term will be extended by a maximum of three years, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. You will attend courses offered by the AISSR and the Graduate School of Social Sciences as part of the PhD program. In addition to doing research, publicizing your findings, and participating in academic events, you will be involved in teaching (roughly 10% of your time).
For this position the University Job Classification profile “Promovendus” applies. Your salary will be €3,059 gross per month in the first year and will increase to €3,881 in the final year, based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.
You will work here
This PhD position is embedded within the Department of Political Science and the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR). Political Science at the UvA is one of the leading political science departments in Europe. It strives to be inclusive of all major theoretical, substantive and methodological colours in political science. The AISSR is the research school for faculty members and PhD candidates from the Departments of Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, and Geography, Planning, and International Development. It is committed to fundamental and engaged research that pushes the boundaries of the social sciences.
The PhD position is part of the AISSR Amsterdam Program, which recruits eight PhD candidates across the institute’s four departments. The candidates will form a cohort and collaborate on innovative research methods that generate value for both the city of Amsterdam and the social sciences. All PhD candidates in the program will receive doctoral training from the AISSR and be affiliated with the Center for Urban Studies as well as the Urban Impact Lab.
If you recognise yourself in this profile and are interested in the position, we look forward to receiving your:
- CV (max. 2 pages)
- Motivation letter (max. 1 page)
- Research proposal based on this project outline using this template (max. 1400 words excl. reference list)
Please merge these documents into a single PDF.
You can apply via the red button until September 1st, 2026.
Interviews will take place from 23 to 25 September 2026..
For questions about the vacancy, you can contact: Dr. Floris Vermeulen, f.f.vermeulen@uva.nl
