Postdoctoral Research Associate -Relational Harm Project - Social and Legal Studies - Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

The School of Security Studies at King’s College London is dedicated to the understanding of security issues in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Harnessing the depth and breadth of expertise across the War Studies and Defence Studies Departments, and the King’s Institute for Applied Security Studies, we are one of the largest multi-disciplinary communities of scholars in the world engaged in the teaching and research of all aspects of conflict, war, security and defence.

The project examines ‘relational harm’, defined as harm that individuals and communities experience through the targeting and control of their intimate relationships. It will focus on the forced separation of families as a significant form of relational harm, particularly in the context of state enforced disappearances. The project will examine the impact of forced separation on families and communities and will assess why states carry out forced separation during war and counterinsurgency. It will focus on lived experiences and the wider ongoing political, social, economic, and psychological legacies of relational harm and ambiguous loss. It will look at gendered and intergenerational dimensions and will examine family and family life as fundamental to the waging and experience of war.

The project is interdisciplinary and will utilize mixed methods. It will have three contemporary case studies: Sri Lanka, Peru, and the Rohingya community (in Bangladesh). The project will also involve archival research into family separation and reunification in the World War Two period.

We welcome applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Social and Legal Studies to work on the project Relational Harm: Targeting the Family in War and Oppression. The PI is Dr Rebekka Friedman, and the project is an ERC-funded Consolidator Grant. The PDRA position is for a 30-month duration starting in January 2026 and will be based in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.

The PDRA in Social and Legal Studies will contribute to the project’s conceptual pillars and to its field research. This will involve looking at the right to family and family life and how these protections are embedded into global practices. The PDRA will also study practices of family reunification, including the work of the ICRC.

Each PDRA will oversee and conduct field research in one of the project’s contemporary case studies. PDRAs will use qualitative methods to conduct fieldwork, and to analyse and write up research outputs. They will write research papers for peer reviewed journals, and/or edited collections, attend conferences, and contribute to the project’s online content. PDRAs will also work in a team, with the PI, the other PDRAs, partner NGOs in the project’s case study countries, and with the project’s legal consultant. They will attend team and individual meetings and will contribute towards the project’s administration and events.

PDRAs should have a commitment to ethical safeguarding and to trauma-informed research. They will gain the opportunity for career development and mentorship. This will be one of several PDRA positions advertised for the project. Applicants are welcome to apply to more than one position if they meet the application criteria.

The Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy and its constituent Schools and Departments together support a culture of diversity and inclusion for our staff and students. Applications from overseas applicants are welcome – however, the successful candidate will be expected to reside in the UK and visa sponsorship is available. This is a full-time post, and you will be offered a fixed term contract from January 2026 for 2.5 years.