Research Fellow, Politics & International Relations in Southampton

We are delighted to welcome applications for the position of Research Fellow within a new ESRC-funded research project led by Prof Elizabeth Evans and Dr Stefanie Reher (Strathclyde) on Disability and Political Parties in Europe (DISPOP). Despite reporting high levels of interest in electoral politics, disabled people have lower voter turnout rates and are under-represented in legislatures around the world. To understand why these patterns occur, what barriers exist, and how to redress these inequalities, we need to study the relationship between disability and political parties - the key institution linking citizens and electoral politics.

Political parties are important vehicles for mobilising and organising groups of citizens with an interest in politics; yet there are no studies focused on how disabled people experience and perceive political parties, nor whether, when, and how parties think about disability, accessibility and inclusion. DISPOP aims to:

• identify, analyse, and compare barriers experienced by disabled people,
• map and evaluate existing party initiatives and best practices,
• explore to what extent formal rules and informal norms render parties ableist institutions, and
• co-produce recommendations with disabled people to make politics more accessible.

The post holder will take a prominent role in developing the conceptual and methodological innovations to study disability and political parties across four cases: Denmark, Germany, Spain and the UK. The role will require using qualitative and mixed methods, for instance; interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic methods. It may also include quantitative data analysis. The post-holder will take a role in all stages of this process, from conceptualisation to data collection and analysis, as well as writing up and presenting the findings. As such, there is scope for the post-holder to bring their own skills and interests to influence the study design.

This research position will be based in the Department of Politics and International Relations within the Faculty of Social Sciences, at the University of Southampton, and the work will be carried out under the supervision of Elizabeth Evans. You will join a vibrant and growing Department with a concentration of scholars researching related themes in the Public Opinion Research Network and the Gender and Inequalities Centre.

To be successful you will have completed your PhD in a relevant discipline before May 2026 (or equivalent professional qualifications). You will have:

• a demonstrated interest in mixed methods approach to researching political attitudes of the public and/or other key political actors and/or political parties;
• a facility for solving conceptual and methodological problems;
• the ability to plan and organise work independently and as part of a team;
• the ability to write research presentations and papers for peer review publication;
• the ability to conduct research in either Danish or Spanish is essential.

Knowledge and experience of focus groups, cognitive interviewing and/or ethnographic methods is desirable. Qualitative skills are essential but experience of using mixed methods would be ideal.

The Research Fellow post is full-time for a fixed term of 2 years with an anticipated start date of October 2026. The University of Southampton holds an Athena SWAN Silver Award demonstrating commitment to equal opportunities in the workplace.