SCRIPTS’ Research Units
Three positions for doctoral researchers (E13, 75%) are funded by the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script” (SCRIPTS), linked to its five respective Research Units (RU): Borders, Orders, Technology, Inequality and Freedom, Temporalities and Science. Doctoral researchers are expected to participate in regular meetings and events of the Research Units and to contribute to the dissemination of research results through publications and participation in workshops and conferences. Applicants should express their interest in the topics of their preferred Research Unit.
RU Borders examines how liberal principles of territoriality and citizenship are challenged and transformed by globalization, regionalization, (de)imperialization, technological change, and other global dynamics. It explores contestations of the liberal border script—including ideas of national sovereignty, mobility, inclusion, and diversity—in comparative and historical perspective.
RU Orders investigates contestations of liberal political authority, institutions, and rule-making in states, in regional organizations (such as the African Union or ASEAN) as well as on the international level. It focuses not only on causes but also on consequences of contestations and examines on how populism, radicalization and polarization reshape the legitimacy of democratic institutions and multilateral governance within and beyond the state. The research unit analyzes the resilience and transformation of liberal orders when confronted with internal and external challenges to democratic norms and constitutionalism.
The first research stream, Technology and Global Capitalism, explores the nexus of technology and labour market polarization, the super-rich and new forms of colonialism. The second research stream, Technology and Democracy, explores how technology impacts media and the public sphere, the actions of populist movements to undermine the liberal script and governments to reinforce it, and the implications in non-liberal countries that contest key parts of the liberal script.
RU Temporalities studies how time, progress, and the future are imagined and politicized in liberal societies. It investigates how contestations over growth, sustainability, and historical responsibility reshape liberal conceptions of progress, and how shifting temporal frameworks affect the legitimacy and resilience of liberal democracy.
RU Science analyzes the role of knowledge, truth, and expertise in the liberal script. It focuses on how scientific authority is contested by disinformation, politicization, and alternative epistemologies, and how liberal societies can sustain epistemic trust as a condition of democratic resilience.