Postdoctoral Position in Class, Elites and the Political Economy of the Green Transition – BACKLASH Project

Copenhagen Business School, Department of Organization invites applications for a postdoctoral position associated with the research project “BACKLASH: Social Inequality and Democratic Sustainability in the Green Transition”.

BACKLASH investigates how social and economic inequalities shape support for and resistance to climate policy in Denmark. The overarching research question is: How do social and economic class dynamics structure support for and resistance to climate policy in Denmark?

A central concept in the project is the climate-political class landscape, which combines actors’ positions in the economic hierarchy with their structural dependence on either fossil-based economic activities or the green transition. BACKLASH uses this framework to investigate potential alliances and conflicts between different class positions and between “green” and “fossil” fractions of capital and other social groups.

The successful candidate will take a leading role in the project’s quantitative research and will work at the intersection of class analysis, elite studies, political economy, climate politics and relational quantitative methods.

Examples of research areas that the Postdoc might cover:

• Class, inequality and the political economy of the green transition
• Elite and organizational networks
• Relational quantitative methods and emissions inequality

The Postdoc is a non-tenured position for a two-year period with research obligation.

To fulfill the research requirements of the position, the applicant chosen is expected to be physically present on a regular basis and actively participate in the activities of the Department.

Qualifications
The applicant must hold a PhD or the equivalent. In assessing applications, particular emphasis will be placed on research potential.

Emphasis is placed on research relevant to the job description.

The applicant should have strong quantitative methodological skills, particularly in relational quantitative methods such as social network analysis and multiple correspondence analysis. We particularly welcome candidates with knowledge of the political economy of the green transition and a strong interest in social class, inequality and elites. Experience with survey analysis, emissions data, text analysis or large-scale data integration is an advantage.

The applicant must have professional proficiency in English (written and spoken).

Copenhagen Business School has a broad commitment to the excellence, distinctiveness and relevance of its teaching and research programmes.

For further information please contact: Associate Professor Christoph Ellersgaard, [email protected] + 45 51789040. Information about the department may be found at www.cbs.dk/ioa.

Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Central Academic Organisation.

Application
Application must be sent via the electronic recruitment system.

Application must include:

1. A summary of the candidate’s main strengthens and abilities.
2. A complete, numbered list of publications (indicating titles, co-authors, page numbers and year) with an * marking of the academic productions to be considered during the review. A maximum of 5 publications for review are allowed. Applicants are requested to prioritise their publications in relation to the field of this job advertisement.
3. Copies of the publications marked with an *. Only publications written in English (or another specified principal language, according to research tradition) or one of the Scandinavian languages will be taken into consideration)
4. Information indicating experience in research management, industry co-operation and international co-operation.
5. Documentation of relevant, significant, original research at an international level.
6. Transcript(s) and a full CV

Recruitment procedure
The Recruitment Committee will shortlist minimum two applicants; when possible five or more applicants will be shortlisted. The shortlisted applicants will be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline.

The applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and later in the process about the result of the assessment.

Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.

Closing date: November 2, 2026

Copenhagen Business School must receive all application material, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline.

Copenhagen Business School invites all qualified candidates to apply for the position. An appointment committee will review the applications and invite a selection of qualified candidates to an interview.

One of CBS’ strategic goals is the promotion of diversity, which is why every effort has been made to ensure a recruitment process that reduces potential bias. Applicants are therefore encouraged not to include a photo or unnecessary personal information in their application.

Details about Copenhagen Business School and the department are available at www.cbs.dk.