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Institution Faculty of Social Sciences - Geschwister-Scholl-Institute for Political Science, Unit Digitalization and Political Behavior (Prof. Dr. Alexander Wuttke) Remuneration group TV-L E13 Full-time / Part-time Full-time (100%) Start date 1 January 2027 or as soon as possible

About us:

At LMU Munich, the Unit Digitalization and Political Behavior (Prof. Dr. Alexander Wuttke) and Geschwister-Scholl Institute for Political Science are looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher.

The position is fixed-term until 31 October 2028; extension possible conditional on funding availabilities.

We are looking for you:

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x)

in Munich

Your tasks and responsibilities:

Are you keen to understand why democracy faces growing challenges and eager to develop meaningful countermeasures at the level of individual citizens? Do you thrive on combining rigorous academic research with tangible societal impact? If so, we warmly invite you to join our team.

As a key member of the DFG-funded research project "Democratic Persuasion: How to Make the Case for Democracy" (), you will be part of a collaborative effort between academia and civil society aimed at strengthening democratic resilience in established democracies. We identify the motivations behind democratic skepticism and test which communicative strategies can win back citizens whose support for democracy is wavering. Our studies include survey experiments, AI-assisted persuasive conversations, and field experiments with group discussions and one-on-one dialogues.

In this role, you will lead the project's framed field experiment, which we run together with civil society organizations. It tests Socratic probing, a conversation technique that invites people to examine the reasons behind their own beliefs, as a way to reduce anti-democratic attitudes. Beyond this study, you will develop your own theory-driven interventions for strengthening democratic support and put them to the test, using LLM-based persuasive conversations or survey experiments. The contract ends with the project in October 2028. Since the project is already up and running, you can concentrate on running studies and publishing from your first weeks.

• Lead the framed field experiment on Socratic probing in collaboration with civil society organizations, from design and pre-registration to analysis
• Develop and implement your own theory-driven interventions to strengthen support for democracy
• Implement LLM-based persuasive conversations and/or persuasive survey experiments
• Publish high-quality research in leading venues
• Coordinate project management and administrative tasks

Your qualifications:

Importantly, no candidate is expected to meet all the criteria listed below. The tasks are distributed among project members with diverse skill sets. Please explain in your cover letter how your profile relates to the following qualifications.

• Completed (or near completion of) PhD in political science, psychology, communication science, or a related field
• Substantive expertise related to the project: research in political psychology and persuasion research and/or research on democratic attitudes, democratic backsliding, or related topics
• Methodological expertise in field experiments and/or survey experiments
• Computational social science skills, in particular orchestrating LLM agents in Python
• Proficiency in R or Python for data wrangling and analysis
• Experience with Open Science practices and commitment to research integrity
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Good written and oral English communication skills; German language skills are an advantage, as the experiments take place in Germany
• Willingness to work with the team on-site with flexible working hours and home office options

Benefits:

• Meaningful opportunities to foster democratic resilience through impactful research
• A leading role in innovative experimental research with strong academic visibility
• Freedom to develop and test your own intervention ideas
• A welcoming, inclusive atmosphere that highly values collaboration and individual contribution
• A research environment shared with our DFG Emmy Noether group, which studies democratic belief systems with AI Conversational Interviewing
• Dedicated personal budget for research activities and conference travel
• Employment at one of Europe's premier research universities located in Munich, a city consistently ranked for outstanding quality of life
• Salary according to TV-L E13, full-time (approx. €66,000 to €72,000 gross per year depending on prior experience, non-binding, )
• Generous postdoctoral support and development opportunities (, )
• Various services and benefits provided by LMU, including family support (, )

Also possible in a part-time capacity.

People with disabilities who are equally as qualified as other applicants will receive preferential treatment.

Contact:

The application deadline is 20 October 2026, but we review applications on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the better.

Please send complete application documents, a writing sample (e.g., a publication or a pre-registration plan) and a cover letter to . Your cover letter should explain how your profile relates to the ideal profile outlined above. Please also sketch, in a few sentences, an intervention to strengthen support for democracy that you would like to test.

Zoom interviews will begin in October 2026. Depending on the number of applications, a second stage with a work sample and in-person interview at LMU Munich may follow (travel costs covered).

Join us in shaping democratic futures. Apply today!

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