Postdoctoral Research Associate in Geoeconomic Policy Discourse and Justification Mechanisms

Responsibilities Common to all Three Posts

• Research delivery
• Design, plan and deliver the research programme for the assigned component within the 33-month timetable, in consultation with the Principal Investigator.
• Conduct primary and secondary research using the methods specified for the component, including the collection, coding, management and analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative material.
• Design and conduct semi-structured elite interviews, including topic guides, participant recruitment, transcription and analysis.
• Secure and maintain research ethics approval and manage data in line with University policy, funder requirements and applicable data protection law.
• Maintain transparent and reproducible research records, including search protocols, coding frameworks and analytical decisions.
• Publication and dissemination
• Lead the drafting of approximately two to three peer-reviewed articles from the component, and contribute as co-author to cross-component publications.
• Draft two to three policy briefs or public-facing essays translating findings for policy and general audiences.
• Contribute chapter drafts and analytical input to the project monograph.
• Present findings at academic conferences, project workshops and policy events.
• Contribute to digital dissemination, including short-form video explainers, the project Substack and the Panmure House podcast, working with the House’s digital media coordinator.
• Integration and collaboration
• Contribute substantively to monthly full-team meetings and quarterly integration workshops, including preparation of the agreed integration deliverable for each workshop.
• Engage critically with the work of the other two components, attending colleagues’ presentations and providing constructive feedback outside one’s own primary expertise.
• Pursue co-authorship across components where intellectually appropriate .
• Events and engagement
• Contribute to the intellectual design and delivery of the four project workshops (Edinburgh, Washington DC, Asia and London), including identification of participants, preparation of materials and drafting of proceedings summaries.
• Build and maintain academic, policy and practitioner networks relevant to the component.
• Contribute to the wider intellectual life of Panmure House through seminars and public events.

Geoeconomic Policy Discourse and Justification Mechanisms

Post-specific duties

• Design and apply a coding framework for the systematic analysis of policy documents from 2015 to 2025, including legislative records, EU economic security and strategic autonomy communications, executive statements, white papers and national security strategies.
• Conduct comparative and temporal analysis of justification patterns across the United States and the European Union, tracing continuity and change across political administrations.
• Conduct parallel analysis of Chinese official discourse, drawing on English translations and Mandarin-language sources, with native-speaker consultation or professional translation support where required.
• Plan and conduct approximately 25 to 30 elite interviews with policy entrepreneurs, congressional staff, executive branch officials and think-tank analysts.
• Take a lead role in the design and delivery of the Washington DC policy workshop in Month 18.

Essential Criteria

Desirable Criteria

How to Apply

• Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on Sunday 27th September 2026.
• We expect interviews to take place on 01 October 2026.
• Please submit your CV via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system.
• Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
• Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our university community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .
• Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

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