Research assistant

The Department of Peace and Conflict Research was established in 1971 to conduct peace research and offer courses in peace and conflict studies. Currently approx. 90 persons are employed at the Department and approximately 1000 students are enrolled every academic year. Courses offered include undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as a Ph. D. program. For more information, visit www.pcr.uu.se
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The project
The project
Cooperation across Enemy Lines: Explaining Prisoner Releases and Exchanges in War examines why warring parties release and exchange prisoners in war, an understudied form of cooperation that is often politically unpopular and strategically costly but surprisingly common. The project will contribute new knowledge on the conditions under which states and armed groups cooperate concerning prisoners in war, focusing on factors such as popular support, conflict dynamics, and international humanitarian law (IHL). The project will build on both interviews with prisoner release mediators and quantitative data, and as part of the project, we will develop the
Prisoners in War Exchange and Release (POWER) dataset, which covers all armed conflicts in the world between 1989 and 2025. The project is led by project leader Sebastian van Baalen.
The department and the project are now looking for a research assistant on 100% for the period 7 January – 31 August 2027.
Duties/work tasks
The research assistant’s main duty will be to collect and code data to be used in quantitative analysis. The research assistant will report to project leader and work close to other research assistants in the project.
Tasks include:
Collecting and coding information for a global dataset on prisoner exchange and release events (1989–2025);
Data management;
Assisting in developing theoretical definitions and coding routines;
Writing shorter reports that analyse particular prisoner exchange agreements;
Transcribe interviews;
Other tasks may be added based on the needs of the project, such as administrative/project management tasks, workshop assistance, and miscellaneous writing tasks.

Qualification requirements

The applicant must have:
A Bachelor degree in peace and conflict studies, international relations, political science, or a related field;
Documented knowledge about theories from peace and conflict research;
Proficiency in social scientific comparative methods;
Previous experience with data collection and coding;
Proficiency in using software for statistical analysis, especially R;
Excellent English language skills (reading and writing);
Ability to work independently and in teams;
Attention to detail and exactness, analytical and problem-solving skills, and good interpersonal abilities.
Desirable/meritorious
Previous experience with data collection and coding, particularly conflict-related data;
Documented knowledge about International Humanitarian Law (IHL);
Proficiency in French (reading);
Proficiency in Spanish (reading);
Individual suitability will be considered.

Application

The application should contain a CV and a short personal letter (max 1 A4 page), and copies of degree certificate, including grades. Also include 1-2 relevant samples demonstrating writing and research skills in your application, such as an academic paper or thesis.
Employment details
Type of employment;
temporary employment (7 months).
Start date;
7 January 2027, or otherwise agreed.
Scope of employment:
100%/Full-time.
Location:
Uppsala.
For further information about the position, please contact:
Sebastian van Baalen, sebastian.van-baalen@pcr.uu.se
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Please submit your application by 30 November
23.59 (Swedish time). Reference number; UFV-PA 2026/3490.