Postdoctoral Fellow in Law (Ghent University)

Last application date: 15 March 2026, 23:59 (CET) Department: RE22 – Department of European, Public and International Law Faculty: Faculty of Law and Criminology Occupancy rate: 100% Vacancy type: Research staff Required degree: MA, MSc or LLM in law, social and/or political sciences, anthropology or a related discipline About Ghent University Ghent University is a top 100 university and one of the major universities in Belgium. Our 11 faculties offer a wide range of courses and conduct in-depth research within a wide range of scientific domains. Ghent University occupies a specific position among the Flemish universities. We are a socially committed and pluralistic university that is open to all students, regardless of their ideological, political, cultural or social background. In its mission statement, Ghent University identifies itself as a socially committed university. This implies that the institution reflects about the positive impact that its activities can have upon society, and that it attempts to optimize that impact. It also implies the reflection about the potential negative impact of activities upon society, and the attempt of minimizing such impact. Over the course of its 200-year history, Ghent University has built up a strong scientific reputation. Ghent University invests both in fundamental, high-risk science as in applied research. The university is known for its scientific expertise in life sciences and medicine, materials and agricultural science, veterinary medicine, psychology and history, and many more. Faculty of Law and Criminology The Faculty provides academic teaching and services based on innovative scientific research. The education within these programmes is supported by the innovative scientific research performed within the three faculty departments encompassing all possible disciplines within the fields of law and criminological sciences. Human Rights Centre The Human Rights Centre at the Faculty of Law and Criminology at Ghent University is an academic centre specialized in human rights law. Its members include senior experts as well as many young researchers, covering a broad research and teaching expertise, which includes international, regional, national and comparative law of human rights. Human Rights Centre members work on a range of thematic issues, including legal pluralism, freedom of expression, gender, indigenous peoples’ rights, and the European Court of Human Rights. Members also actively engage with human rights practice by supervising clinical projects and submitting third-party interventions to the European Court of Human Rights. Diversity We ensure equal opportunities, equal treatment and equal access to the vacancies for all who apply. We ensure an objective and non-biased assessment procedure. Origin, ethnicity, gender, age, employment disability, sexual orientation and other identity factors will not be a factor in assessing the competences. Candidates who self-identify as belonging to vulnerable or minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Additional Information For more information about Justice Visions, please click here. For more information about the position, please contact: justicevisions@ugent.be. Your Tasks We are seeking to hire one fully funded PhD researcher as part of the FWO project: Reckoning with Belgium’s colonial past: Towards a better understanding of interconnected (truth) initiatives and their contribution to redress. The PhD project focuses on better understanding a range of initiatives carried out by grassroots actors and institutions aimed towards redress and repair — understood broadly as material, symbolic, institutional, or relational responses to address colonial harm. The candidate is expected to select and analyse a set of these initiatives (ideally spanning different actor types) to examine how the actors behind them articulate, negotiate, and pursue redress. Key questions include: What forms of redress and repair do they prioritize? How do they legitimize their initiatives? What tensions arise between different visions of redress and repair? How do these initiatives interact with, or challenge, other initiatives? The ideal candidate holds an interdisciplinary background preferably combining social sciences and legal studies, including familiarity with conceptual frameworks and debates on historical (in)justice, redress and repair, epistemic authority and (in)justice, recognition and analysis of change processes, and how they relate to colonial harm. A grounded understanding of Belgium’s colonial history and its enduring consequences is essential. Experience with, or openness to using, relevant empirical research methods is expected. The researcher will be based at the Human Rights Centre at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of Ghent University. On-site presence is expected. The selected candidate will be offered a position of limited duration as PhD researcher (12 months initially, with a 36-month extension upon passing the first-year PhD requirements). We value perspectives that emerge from community engagement, activism, or intergenerational memory. Candidates whose lived experience, activism, or research emerges from communities impacted by colonialism are encouraged to apply. Our recruitment process is aimed at ensuring inclusion and diversity. Description of the Research Project The candidate will be part of a broader research project examining the complex, cross-sectoral ecosystem of initiatives aimed at redress of colonial harm. Globally, movements such as Black Lives Matter, #RhodesMustFall, and other decolonization initiatives have brought historical justice, redress, and social change to the forefront of public, policy, and academic agendas. Civil society organizations, grassroots activists, academics, museums, and artists have developed initiatives including truth-seeking, commemoration practices, memory work, advocacy, and campaigns. In response, European former colonial powers, including Belgium, have developed policy reforms, legal mechanisms, formal apologies, restitution of looted cultural objects, curatorial practices, memorialization projects, and removal of colonial symbols from public spaces. This has resulted in a complex landscape of initiatives related to colonial harm, each embracing different understandings of redress and repair. The PhD project will investigate how these initiatives emerge, interact, and envision pathways of change. The overarching research question is: How do initiatives for redress and repair led by different actors in Belgium interact, and how do these interactions shape the forms, priorities, and legitimacy of their initiatives (symbolic, material, or institutional)? The research question will be refined through iterative engagement with research participants. A mixed-method, actor-centred approach will be used. Methods may include qualitative interviews, participant observation, document analysis, and network analysis (qualitative or quantitative), depending on the candidate’s preference and selected case study. The project is committed to participatory research practices, including co-creation of outputs, interpretations, and dissemination strategies with research participants. Description of Your Specific Research as a PhD PhD researchers are encouraged to bring their own topical and methodological expertise, provided the research centres on initiatives for redress of colonial harm in the Belgian context. The PhD researcher will lead their case study, supported by two co-supervisors. While the overarching framework is defined, the researcher is expected to refine the research design, questions, methods, and deliverables based on their case selection and engagement with supervisors and participants. Supervision will be provided by Prof. Dr. Tine Destrooper and Dr. Cira Pallí-Asperó, with opportunities to collaborate with the Justice Visions team, the Human Rights Centre, and the Human Rights Research Network at UGent. Within the first year, the candidate will: Finalise the research design and ethics and data management plans Engage with relevant literature Participate in team meetings and doctoral training Draft methodological, theoretical, and conceptual chapters In subsequent years, the candidate will conduct empirical research, write the PhD (articles or monograph), present at conferences, and contribute to limited teaching and outreach activities. What We Are Looking For Eligibility Requirements Applicants must: Hold an MA, MSc or LLM in social and political sciences, law, anthropology or a related discipline Have obtained the degree at the time of application or by 1 September 2026 Be fluent in English as their primary working and publication language Be fluent in the language spoken by actors in the initiatives they wish to examine Selection Criteria (Preferred) Candidates will be ranked higher if they demonstrate: Familiarity with initiatives for redress/repair for colonial harms In-depth knowledge of Belgium’s colonial history and related initiatives Pre-existing networks facilitating fieldwork Multidisciplinary training or research experience Experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research methods Additional Expectations Candidates are expected to: Work independently and proactively within a multidisciplinary team Engage in co-creative research practices Demonstrate strong academic writing and presentation skills Contribute to team functioning Manage deadlines meticulously Reside in Belgium What We Can Offer You A full-time doctoral fellowship, initially for 12 months, extendable to a maximum of 48 months after positive evaluation Earliest contract start date: 9 January 2026 Fellowship amount: 100% of the net salary of an AAP member (tax-free), determined by family status and seniority Benefits including training opportunities, 36 days of annual leave, bicycle allowance, and eco vouchers Interested? Apply online by submitting one single PDF by email to justicevisions@ugent.be before 15 March 2026 (23:59 CET). Your application must include: Cover letter (max. 500 words) Detailed CV Research statement (max. 1,000 words) Transcript of the required degree One academic letter of recommendation Writing sample (max. 10,000 words, in English) Please name your PDF file: LASTNAME_FirstName_Belgium. Late applications, applications sent to other addresses, or applications with more than one PDF attachment will not be accepted. Evaluation Procedure Longlisted candidates will be invited for a home-based written assignment Written assignments: 3–19 April 2026 Interviews (in Ghent or via video conference): 4–5 May 2026 Offer expected: second half of May 2026 Foreseen start date: 1 September 2026 (negotiable) For inquiries, please contact justicevisions@ugent.be. If you apply for this position please say you saw it on Socioloxy

Last application date: 15 March 2026, 23:59 (CET)

Department: RE22 – Department of European, Public and International Law

Faculty: Faculty of Law and Criminology

Occupancy rate: 100%

Vacancy type: Research staff

Required degree: MA, MSc or LLM in law, social and/or political sciences, anthropology or a related discipline

About Ghent University

Ghent University is a top 100 university and one of the major universities in Belgium. Our 11 faculties offer a wide range of courses and conduct in-depth research within a wide range of scientific domains. Ghent University occupies a specific position among the Flemish universities. We are a socially committed and pluralistic university that is open to all students, regardless of their ideological, political, cultural or social background.

In its mission statement, Ghent University identifies itself as a socially committed university. This implies that the institution reflects about the positive impact that its activities can have upon society, and that it attempts to optimize that impact. It also implies the reflection about the potential negative impact of activities upon society, and the attempt of minimizing such impact.

Over the course of its 200-year history, Ghent University has built up a strong scientific reputation. Ghent University invests both in fundamental, high-risk science as in applied research. The university is known for its scientific expertise in life sciences and medicine, materials and agricultural science, veterinary medicine, psychology and history, and many more.

Faculty of Law and Criminology

The Faculty provides academic teaching and services based on innovative scientific research. The education within these programmes is supported by the innovative scientific research performed within the three faculty departments encompassing all possible disciplines within the fields of law and criminological sciences.

Human Rights Centre

The Human Rights Centre at the Faculty of Law and Criminology at Ghent University is an academic centre specialized in human rights law. Its members include senior experts as well as many young researchers, covering a broad research and teaching expertise, which includes international, regional, national and comparative law of human rights.

Human Rights Centre members work on a range of thematic issues, including legal pluralism, freedom of expression, gender, indigenous peoples’ rights, and the European Court of Human Rights. Members also actively engage with human rights practice by supervising clinical projects and submitting third-party interventions to the European Court of Human Rights.

Diversity

We ensure equal opportunities, equal treatment and equal access to the vacancies for all who apply. We ensure an objective and non-biased assessment procedure. Origin, ethnicity, gender, age, employment disability, sexual orientation and other identity factors will not be a factor in assessing the competences. Candidates who self-identify as belonging to vulnerable or minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Additional Information

For more information about Justice Visions, please click here.

For more information about the position, please contact: justicevisions@ugent.be.

Your Tasks

We are seeking to hire one fully funded PhD researcher as part of the FWO project:

Reckoning with Belgium’s colonial past: Towards a better understanding of interconnected (truth) initiatives and their contribution to redress.

The PhD project focuses on better understanding a range of initiatives carried out by grassroots actors and institutions aimed towards redress and repair — understood broadly as material, symbolic, institutional, or relational responses to address colonial harm.

The candidate is expected to select and analyse a set of these initiatives (ideally spanning different actor types) to examine how the actors behind them articulate, negotiate, and pursue redress. Key questions include:

What forms of redress and repair do they prioritize?
How do they legitimize their initiatives?
What tensions arise between different visions of redress and repair?
How do these initiatives interact with, or challenge, other initiatives?

The ideal candidate holds an interdisciplinary background preferably combining social sciences and legal studies, including familiarity with conceptual frameworks and debates on historical (in)justice, redress and repair, epistemic authority and (in)justice, recognition and analysis of change processes, and how they relate to colonial harm. A grounded understanding of Belgium’s colonial history and its enduring consequences is essential. Experience with, or openness to using, relevant empirical research methods is expected.

The researcher will be based at the Human Rights Centre at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of Ghent University. On-site presence is expected.

The selected candidate will be offered a position of limited duration as PhD researcher (12 months initially, with a 36-month extension upon passing the first-year PhD requirements).

We value perspectives that emerge from community engagement, activism, or intergenerational memory. Candidates whose lived experience, activism, or research emerges from communities impacted by colonialism are encouraged to apply. Our recruitment process is aimed at ensuring inclusion and diversity.

Description of the Research Project

The candidate will be part of a broader research project examining the complex, cross-sectoral ecosystem of initiatives aimed at redress of colonial harm.

Globally, movements such as Black Lives Matter, #RhodesMustFall, and other decolonization initiatives have brought historical justice, redress, and social change to the forefront of public, policy, and academic agendas. Civil society organizations, grassroots activists, academics, museums, and artists have developed initiatives including truth-seeking, commemoration practices, memory work, advocacy, and campaigns.

In response, European former colonial powers, including Belgium, have developed policy reforms, legal mechanisms, formal apologies, restitution of looted cultural objects, curatorial practices, memorialization projects, and removal of colonial symbols from public spaces.

This has resulted in a complex landscape of initiatives related to colonial harm, each embracing different understandings of redress and repair. The PhD project will investigate how these initiatives emerge, interact, and envision pathways of change.

The overarching research question is:

How do initiatives for redress and repair led by different actors in Belgium interact, and how do these interactions shape the forms, priorities, and legitimacy of their initiatives (symbolic, material, or institutional)?

The research question will be refined through iterative engagement with research participants.

A mixed-method, actor-centred approach will be used. Methods may include qualitative interviews, participant observation, document analysis, and network analysis (qualitative or quantitative), depending on the candidate’s preference and selected case study.

The project is committed to participatory research practices, including co-creation of outputs, interpretations, and dissemination strategies with research participants.

Description of Your Specific Research as a PhD

PhD researchers are encouraged to bring their own topical and methodological expertise, provided the research centres on initiatives for redress of colonial harm in the Belgian context.

The PhD researcher will lead their case study, supported by two co-supervisors. While the overarching framework is defined, the researcher is expected to refine the research design, questions, methods, and deliverables based on their case selection and engagement with supervisors and participants.

Supervision will be provided by Prof. Dr. Tine Destrooper and Dr. Cira Pallí-Asperó, with opportunities to collaborate with the Justice Visions team, the Human Rights Centre, and the Human Rights Research Network at UGent.

Within the first year, the candidate will:

Finalise the research design and ethics and data management plans
Engage with relevant literature
Participate in team meetings and doctoral training
Draft methodological, theoretical, and conceptual chapters

In subsequent years, the candidate will conduct empirical research, write the PhD (articles or monograph), present at conferences, and contribute to limited teaching and outreach activities.

What We Are Looking For

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:

Hold an MA, MSc or LLM in social and political sciences, law, anthropology or a related discipline
Have obtained the degree at the time of application or by 1 September 2026
Be fluent in English as their primary working and publication language
Be fluent in the language spoken by actors in the initiatives they wish to examine

Selection Criteria (Preferred)

Candidates will be ranked higher if they demonstrate:

Familiarity with initiatives for redress/repair for colonial harms
In-depth knowledge of Belgium’s colonial history and related initiatives
Pre-existing networks facilitating fieldwork
Multidisciplinary training or research experience
Experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research methods

Additional Expectations

Candidates are expected to:

Work independently and proactively within a multidisciplinary team
Engage in co-creative research practices
Demonstrate strong academic writing and presentation skills
Contribute to team functioning
Manage deadlines meticulously
Reside in Belgium

What We Can Offer You

A full-time doctoral fellowship, initially for 12 months, extendable to a maximum of 48 months after positive evaluation
Earliest contract start date: 9 January 2026
Fellowship amount: 100% of the net salary of an AAP member (tax-free), determined by family status and seniority
Benefits including training opportunities, 36 days of annual leave, bicycle allowance, and eco vouchers