PhD Position: Decolonising Reparations

About this position

What could reparations for colonialism look like? As a PhD candidate, you will explore this urgent question, using participatory and creative research methods to foreground the experiences and expectations of Indo and Indonesian communities affected by colonialism.

Recent developments like the Rhodes Must Fall movement have highlighted the need to address historical injustices and global inequalities, but responses so far have often been superficial. Apologies, like the apologies the Dutch government offered to the Moluccan population in the Netherlands last summer, are often made, but more material forms of redress are slow to follow or remain absent altogether. Current scholarly debates in relation to historical injustices concern the potential and scope of reparations, which are often prioritised by survivors but politically sensitive.

So far there is no consensus or empirical data on how reparations could address colonial legacies.

This important question will guide your PhD research in the NWO-funded project ‘Decolonising Reparations: Transforming the Legacies of Colonialism’, led by Dr Sanne Weber, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science. You will use participatory and creative research methods to investigate the impact of colonialism on affected communities within Indonesia and the Indonesian diaspora in the Netherlands, as well as what these communities expect from reparations for colonialism.

You will work together with participants on co-produced multimedia products about the potential role of reparations in addressing historical grievances. In addition, you will conduct interviews with a wider group of stakeholders and a vignette study with the broader population in Indonesia. You will receive training on participatory and creative approaches by the Principal Investigator.

Strong knowledge of qualitative research methodologies and familiarity with participatory research approaches are an asset.

During your PhD, you will collaborate with the PI and a postdoctoral researcher who will focus on Belgium and the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa. By comparing these case studies and triangulating the diverse methods, the project will enable a better understanding of potential forms of reparations for colonialism. In this way, the project aims to contribute to the decolonisation of reparative justice theory to address the legacies of colonialism committed by Western Europe.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Developing a concrete and feasible research project fitting the overarching theme and resulting in the defence of an article-based PhD thesis at the end of the 4th year.
• Setting up and carrying out in-depth and independent participatory fieldwork.
• Authoring and co-authoring publications with other team members.
• Participating in conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities.
• Being part of the research team and contributing to the overall organisation and strategy of the team and the project.
• Being an active member of the Department of Political Science and the Centre for International Conflict Analysis and Management.
• As part of your PhD position, you will also contribute to teaching (max 5%) and will have the opportunity to work on components of your University Teaching Qualification (BKO) portfolio.

Your supervision team will consist of Dr Sanne Weber (main substantive PhD supervisor) and Dr. Haley Swedlund.

Would you like to learn more about what it’s like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate .