TRANSITION TO TRANSFORMATIONS

The Estonian Research Council-funded PRG project “From Transition to Transformations: Commoning Securities, Green Practices and Livelihoods” (principal investigator is Prof. Tauri Tuvikene) recruits two PhD students with a background in anthropology, geography, sociology, political sciences or other related fields and with experience with qualitative research methodologies. The project in which the PhD researchers are part of, works towards a new transition framework that acknowledges conflicting and turbulent transformations while capturing geopolitical developments at the intersection of macro and micro scales with a focus on Ida-Virumaa region, Estonia. The overarching project examines the intersection of energy and postsocialist transitions to develop a novel account of the transition framework.

PhD researchers should focus on one of the following topics and clearly indicate their preference in the application. (1) Geopolitics of transitions (supervisors Dr. Karin Dean, Prof. Tauri Tuvikene) – the candidate is expected to understand the research background of complex, overarching and interconnected security challenges in the context of ongoing (geo)political re-bordering and deepening civilizational faultlines between the EU and Russia. The project should analyse policy decisions and media narratives on securitisation in Ida-Virumaa since the 1990s, and conduct qualitative research locally on the sense of security and belonging, national borders and bordering. (2) Commoning transitions (supervisors Dr. Tarmo Pikner, Prof. Tauri Tuvikene) – the candidate is expected to look into everyday practice of care, identities, and socio-natural assemblages in the turbulent region of Ida-Virumaa. The study might attend to discourses about energy dependencies, environmental conservation, and alternatives to capitalism (e.g., degrowth), positioning these within a temporal perspective by engaging tensions around legacies, postsocialist transitions, and anticipated futures.

Candidates are required to have an excellent command of English and Russian; Estonian language skills are recommended but not mandatory.

Candidates are encouraged to contact the supervisors prior to submitting their application to discuss questions related to the thematic focus.

Supervisor´s contacts:  Karin Dean (dean@tlu.ee); Tarmo Pikner (tpikner@tlu.ee); Tauri Tuvikene (tauri.tuvikene@tlu.ee)

More information at https://www.tlu.ee/en/ht/studies-cultures#prg-junior-researcher