The Department of Political Science is inviting applications for a PhD scholarship on the “Lobbying (A)symmetry: The Dynamics Behind Informed Policy” (LOBBYMETRY) project. The project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and led by Associate Professor Wiebke Marie Junk (PI). The selected candidate will be a part of the project team consisting of the PI, two Postdoctoral
Researchers (hired in 2025 and 2026), a group of student assistants, and international collaborators. Enrollment as a PhD student will be at the Faculty of Social Sciences under Copenhagen Graduate School of Social Sciences.
As part of the LOBBYMETRY project, the chosen candidate will cooperate with the other project team members in developing measures of informational quality in lobbying exchanges. The LOBBYMETRY project evaluates the types of information provided in several venues of policymaking across sampled issues in climate and digital politics. It uses such textual data to study how and when lobbying contributes positively or negatively to the quality of information in the policy process, and, ultimately, the quality of legislation.
The chosen candidate will write their PhD thesis within this overall topic of the larger project, including, but not limited to, a focus on information asymmetries and informational quality in lobbying exchanges. Funding is available for data collection and conference attendance such that candidates can develop their international network and research expertise.
The starting date is 1 February 2026, or as soon as possible by agreement.

We are seeking to recruit a candidate with the following qualifications:

• A background (e.g., a master’s degree) in a relevant social science field such as political science, sociology, or economics
• A demonstrated aptitude for quantitative methods
• An interest in interest representation, lobbying and European public policy, especially in the policy areas of climate and/or digital policy
• An aptitude for research and skills in academic writing
• A willingness to take on independent responsibilities, as well as work collaboratively as part of a team
• High proficiency in spoken and written English is a requirement. Proficiency in other European languages is an advantage

The chosen candidate will be responsible for:

• Authoring and co-authoring publications with team members (leading to an article-based PhD dissertation)
• Assisting with the collection of data on information exchanges on sampled issues in the climate and digital policy areas in several European countries
• Contributing to developing and validating different measures of informational quality and potential fact-checking methods in lobbying
• Participating in workshops, conferences, and other scholarly activities.
• Teaching

We are seeking to recruit a candidate with the following qualifications:

• A background (e.g., a master’s degree) in a relevant social science field such as political science, sociology, or economics
• A demonstrated aptitude for quantitative methods
• An interest in interest representation, lobbying and European public policy, especially in the policy areas of climate and/or digital policy
• An aptitude for research and skills in academic writing
• A willingness to take on independent responsibilities, as well as work collaboratively as part of a team
• High proficiency in spoken and written English is a requirement. Proficiency in other European languages is an advantage.