PhD Position (1 FTE): Emotions in Regulatory Politics

Are you eager to pursue a PhD at the intersection of public administration and psychology? Do you want to research how emotions influence regulatory decisions? Then join our research team working on Affective Regulatory Governance!

PhD position: Emotions in Regulatory Politics

Your function

This fully funded four-year PhD position is part of the VIDI research project “Emotion-Infused Risk Regulation: Rethinking the Fundamentals of Regulatory Governance for Citizen-Centric Rulemaking”, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and led by Dr. Dovilė Rimkutė.

The VIDI project investigates the role of emotions in regulatory governance, examining how emotions shape both regulators’ formulation of rules and citizens’ reception of regulatory responses. It is structured around three interlinked objectives: (1) Emotion and Regulatory Responsiveness: To what extent and why do regulators respond to citizens’ emotion-laden concerns? (2) Citizens’ Emotional Responses in Regulatory Encounters: To what extent and how are citizens’ emotions elicited during interactions with regulators? (3) Emotions and Regulatory Legitimacy: What are the effects of citizens’ emotions on their perceptions of regulators’ legitimacy?

The PhD project will contribute to the emerging research agenda on affective regulatory governance, with a particular focus on regulatory responsiveness to citizens’ emotionally charged concerns (Objective 1). Specifically, the project will examine when and under what conditions regulators respond to citizens’ emotion-laden reactions—such as anger, fear, or anxiety regarding regulatory conduct. The project will analyze these dynamics across different regulatory domains (e.g., health, environment, financial regulation) and multiple levels of the EU governance system (supranational and national). It will investigate how independent regulators exercise their discretionary authority when responding to affective citizen concerns, particularly when addressing emerging societal risks that demand regulatory interventions. Empirically, the PhD project employs a rigorous mixed-methods design, combining survey experiments with interviews involving top-level EU and national regulators.

Your duties

As a PhD candidate, you will complete a cumulative dissertation within four years at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. Your dissertation will consist of approximately six chapters, including four experimental and qualitative studies prepared as journal articles.

Working closely with your interdisciplinary supervisory team led by Dr. Dovilė Rimkutė, you will play an integral role in advancing the VIDI project’s first objective on regulatory responsiveness. You will design and conduct survey experiments and semi-structured interviews with EU and national regulators, collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, and disseminate findings through conference presentations, publications in high-quality international journals, and publicly accessible policy outputs (e.g., reports and policy briefs).

The allocation of your time will be determined in consultation with the Principal Investigator, with a typical balance of approximately 0.95 FTE dedicated to research and 0.05 FTE to teaching activities within the department’s teaching programmes.

As a core member of the recently founded Regulatory Behavior Lab, you will actively contribute to shaping its scientific profile and visibility. You will engage in collaborative research, participate in lab meetings, and help bridge academic and practitioner communities—for instance, by co-organizing workshops and events that translate the project’s findings into actionable insights for regulatory practice.

As a member of our vibrant, internationally renowned department, you will broaden your professional network and develop collaborations with scholars in related fields.

Your profile

We are looking for a PhD candidate who:

• has obtained, or will have obtained by 1 September 2026, a (research) master’s degree in public administration, political science, (political/social/cognitive) psychology, or a closely related field;
• is interested in examining how and why citizens’ emotionally charged concerns shape regulators’ decision-making and behavior;
• has skills, or demonstrates a strong willingness to develop skills, in designing and conducting quantitative empirical research, particularly experimental studies;
• is comfortable with statistical analysis (e.g., experience with R);
• possesses experience, or demonstrates a strong willingness to develop expertise, in collecting and analyzing qualitative data, particularly through elite interviews;
• possesses excellent academic writing skills in English;
• is autonomous and responsible, takes ownership of research projects, and is diligent and conscientious in advancing research and publications;
• can collaborate effectively across disciplines and communicate clearly, both orally and in writing;
• is fluent in English and at least one additional EU language, due to the cross-national nature of the planned studies.

We realize that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise, and mindset. Therefore, we are happy to invite anyone who recognizes themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

We offer a challenging and rewarding PhD position within a vibrant, ambitious, and socially engaged Department of Political Science and Public Administration. At the VU, you are embedded in a highly interdisciplinary research environment that fosters substantial academic and professional development.

About the department

You will be employed at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. This is a large and diverse department with many multidisciplinary research projects into societally relevant topics.