Postdoctoral Positions in Political Science at Aarhus University – Advertising Democracy

The Department of Political Science at Aarhus University invites applications for two 2-year full-time postdoctoral researchers to join a research team studying whether and how we can design democratic advertisements that increase citizens’ democratic commitment. The project is headed by Associate Professor Suthan Krishnarajan. Start date is April 1, 2025, but it can be flexible throughout 2025, subject to mutual agreement.

The research project

An acute challenge in today’s Western democracies is how to design strategies to improve citizens’ democratic commitments. Yet, most previous efforts to bolster citizens’ democratic values by providing them with elaborate facts, figures, and arguments have generally failed. The Advertising Democracy project (AdDem) argues that a successful intervention strategy should account for the fact that we live in an age when people face intensifying demands on their time and attention. Most do not want to spend precious time reading long, complex, democratic information from researchers and experts.

AdDem fills this gap and pioneers a new research agenda that redefines how we think about pro-democratic interventions in the 21st-century information environment. It examines whether democratic advertisements – ads that communicate the importance of democratic principles in an easily accessible manner – can improve citizens’ democratic commitment. The project will explore whether such democratic advertisements can strengthen citizens’ democratic values and, if so, determine the most effective design for these advertisements.

The idea is to (1) systematically create still and video democratic advertisements using photo editing, video tools, and artificial intelligence, (2) test the ads’ effectiveness in online survey experiments across multiple countries, (3) redesign the ads based on the knowledge acquired from these controlled settings, and (4) examine the effectiveness of the revised ads in field experiments on various social media platforms across multiple countries.

AdDem will run from September 2024 through 2028 and will consist of Associate Professor Suthan Krishnarajan and a research team with two postdocs. The project collaborates with Professor Anja Neundorf, University of Glasgow, Professor André Bächtiger, University of Stuttgart, and Professor Alexander Wuttke at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Münich. The project is funded by a Sapere Aude grant, the Independent Research Fund Denmark’s flagship grant to talented younger researchers to lead multiple participants in a research project at a high international level.

AdDem invites applications for two positions. The postdoctoral researchers will join a research team and are expected to engage in collaborative research with Associate Professor Suthan Krishnarajan and the other members of the research team. They will be expected to take a leading role in developing, designing, coordinating, and publishing research in high-impact journals. Moreover, as part of the research team, they are expected to support project-related organizational and administrative tasks.

The postdoctoral researchers will be part of a cutting-edge research project and a vibrant and supportive research team. There will be excellent opportunities for intellectual growth and mentoring, as well as for developing an independent research agenda with single-authored work within the context of the project. The project offers funding for data collection, workshops, conferences, additional training, and opportunities for developing a strong academic network.

In addition to the outlined research tasks, the position entails teaching the equivalent of one course per year.

Applicants are expected to hold (or be close to completing) a PhD in political science or another field relevant to the project. Applicants from various disciplines, e.g., Political Science, Psychology, Communications, Media Studies, Data Science, and Economics, are encouraged to apply. The project aims to create a research team with the following qualifications:

Research experience in citizens’ democratic values in Western democracies

• How citizens understand, define, and think about democracy
• Citizens’ willingness to vote for undemocratic leaders
• Political polarization, partisan identity, and electoral behavior

Research experience in political advertising, communication, and persuasion

• Media campaigns and advertising in print, television, and social media
• Citizens’ cognitive processes, perceptions, and responses to media communication
• Intervention strategies to induce behavioral change

Quantitative methodological skills

• Photo and video editing
• Design, conduct, and analyze survey experiments
• Undertake field experiments on social media platforms and analyze users’ behavior

Note that applicants are not expected to hold expertise in all areas The goal is to create a research team that collectively commands all the qualifications required for the project’s success. Please specify your qualifications in the application.

Who we are

The Department of Political Science is one of the six departments at Aarhus BSS, which is one of five faculties at Aarhus University. The department is among Europe’s largest and most prominent political science departments, with particular strengths in political behavior and political psychology. In 2024, the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University was ranked the top political science department in continental Europe, according to Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking.

At the Department of Political Science, we emphasize a dynamic and flexible research and teaching profile characterized by pluralism and openness. With more than 100 academic staff members and 50 PhD students, we offer a lively, ambitious, and highly collegial research and teaching environment with many international visitors and workshops and a clear international orientation.

Further information

If you have questions regarding the position or want to learn more about the project and specific tasks, please do not hesitate to contact Associate Professor Suthan Krishnarajan at

If you need help uploading your application or have questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR supporter Line Møller Kristiansen by telephone: +4593522904 or e-mail:

Place of work

International applicant?

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners.

When you apply for this position it is mandatory to attach the following:

• Cover letter (1 page) motivating why you are interested in joining AdDem
• A short research proposal (2-3 pages) that outlines your idea for a specific study within the scope of the AdDem project.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Education (diploma for master’s, PhD and possibly higher doctoral degree).
• List of publications.
• Teaching portfolio.

Materials which cannot be uploaded together with the application may be submitted in three copies to Aarhus BSS HR & PhD, Aarhus University, Tåsingegade 1, 2nd floor, DK-8000 Aarhus C.

Read more about how to apply for an academic post at Aarhus BSS.

The evaluation process

After the application deadline, an assessment committee is appointed. Please note that the assessment of applicants is based solely on the material received prior to the application deadline. Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.