Research Assistant - WELRISCC

The Laboratory for interdisciplinary evaluation of public policies (LIEPP) seeks to appoint a research assistant to support the project WELRISCC: Welfare State Responses to social risks in times of climate change”, funded by NORFACE/CHANSE.

LIEPP is a laboratory of excellence funded as part of the "Investments for the Future" programme. Its purpose is to develop an interdisciplinary scientific approach to the field of public policy evaluation. It aims to improve the development, evaluation and renewal of public policies. It also contributes to the transparency of public policies vis-à-vis political leaders and citizens.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: WELRISCC (Welfare State Responses to Social Risks in Times of Climate Change)

Climate change poses a major threat to social well-being, defined here as the capabilities, freedom and opportunities people have to lead fulfilling lives (Gough 2017: 106). Planetary warming has ushered in a less predictable and more dangerous new world, one that threatens livelihoods, challenges fair resource distribution, and heightens global insecurity across generations. A swift ‘net zero transition' (NZT) is essential to mitigate these impacts; yet the path to NZT must also protect the disadvantaged populations and regions whose well-being such a transition can most easily harm.

European welfare states, which have functionally accompanied and ideationally legitimated economic and societal reforms since their inception, can be expected to play a pivotal role in addressing the social ills brought on by climate change. For this, they would need to reshape individual capabilities, freedoms, and opportunities (Laurent 2021). Yet – and this is the crux of the problem – the economic growth model of these affluent countries, with their comprehensive welfare systems, is itself a major driver of climate change (Koch 2022). Paradoxically, to protect constituents’ well-being and their own political legitimacy, welfare states must democratically enact major economic and social reforms in sectors that actually rely on a key contributor to climate change: the need for continued economic growth.

Distinguishing between direct and indirect 3rd generation social risks (Mandelli, Beaussier, Chevalier, Palier 2024), WELRISCC (Welfare State Responses to Social Risks in Times of Climate Change) examines how established welfare states respond to climate-induced social risks to enhance human well-being. Direct risks stem from climate-induced events like droughts, wildfires, or floods, whereas indirect social risks arise from climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts. Focusing on this ‘third generation’ of social risks, the project will comparatively analyse various welfare states to identify how and why their risk responses differ. The project’s general hypothesis is that the development of responses to these risks is path-dependently shaped by existing institutions, interests, and prevailing ideas about social risk management in European countries. These do not only provide blueprints for risk management but also shape risk exposure and vulnerabilities to 3rd generation social risks.

WELRISCC, headed by Katharina Zimmermann (Hamburg University), involves several teams from all around Europe. Project partners include Vincent Gengnagel (Europa-Universität Flensburg), Kenneth Nelson (University of Oxford), Maša Filipovič Hrast (University of Ljubljana) and Arvid Lindh (Stockholm University). Cooperation partners include Paolo Graziano (University of Padua), Lydie Cabane (University of Leiden), Mi Ah Schøyen (Oslo Metropolitan University), Adeline Otto (KU Leuven), Caroline de la Porte and Zhen Im (Copenhagen Business School), Marta Kahancová (Comenius University) and Sonja Avlijaš (University of Belgrade). The European Trade Union Institute and CEE Bankwatch Network are associated partners. The French team plays an important role in various WELRISCC work packages (WPs).

LIEPP INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROJECT:

The French team of WELRISCC is led by Dr. Bruno Palier at Sciences Po and includes Anne-Laure Beaussier, Tom Chevalier, Benoît Giry, Matteo Mandelli and Catherine Spieser. It will be involved in the theoretical elaboration of the third generation of social risks associated with environmental transitions leading to a comparative regime theory (WP1); in the mapping of the institutions protecting from the third generation risks (WP2) and of the interests involved (in favor of or against eco-social policies) (WP4).

It will play a central role in addressing the following research questions:

- How do environmental risk exposure and vulnerabilities and welfare state responses to direct and indirect 3rd generation social risks interact with variations in existing institutions of social risk management, existing welfare and growth regimes?

- How different societal cleavages relate to risk exposure and vulnerabilities, and shape interest structures towards direct and indirect 3rd generation social risks?

JOB DESCRIPTION

Under the responsibility of Bruno Palier, Anne-Laure Beaussier and Tom Chevalier, you will be recruited as a research assistant for the "WELRISCC" project to work on the "mapping of institutions protecting against 3rd generation social risks" (WP2). This WP raises the following question: how to characterize and explain the different types of policies and institutions put in place in Europe to protect populations against the direct and indirect 3^rd generation of social risks? 

Associated with LIEPP, but in connection with the laboratories of the other members of the research team (CSO Sciences Po, ARENES – Sciences Po Rennes, University of The Hague in the Netherlands) you will be in charge of: 

1. Participating in the mapping of relevant public policies in Europe and in the construction of the database and its statistical processing, focussing on 8 social-ecological risks: 

- 4 direct social ecological risks (floods, heatwaves, droughts, coastal erosion)

- 4 indirect social ecological risks (loss of jobs and obsolete skills, energy poverty, transport poverty, food insecurity). 

This includes: 

• Literature and documentary research: compilation of policy documents published by EU countries (+UK and Switzerland) with a view of identifying policies to protect against these risks 
• Writing synthetic country reports 
•  In conjunction with the research team, participate in the conceptualization and refinement of the different categories of analysis of the database 
• Participation in the statistical processing of the database 

2. Participate in qualitative research and conduct -- together with the rest of the team--, qualitative case study analysis in France, Spain, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, and the UK. 

• Identification of relevant actors and organizations, appointment scheduling and scheduling of semi-structured interviews (N – 10 with relevant experts)
• Fieldwork and interviews will be conducted as much as possible in pairs with one of the members of the research team. 
• Analysis of ongoing national policy debates around protection against these risks (their actors, the ongoing reform processes, and the different national approaches and perspectives around the question of the role of the State in the protection against social ecological risks). 

3. Support the research team in the organization of the scientific events planned within the framework of the project. 

4. Participate in the promotion of research results (communication, website, presentations of results and participation in publication activities) 

REQUIRED SKILLS

Quantitative and qualitative methodological skills (interviews, process tracing)

Proficiency in a data processing tool (R, STATA or SAS). 

Social skills for access to the field.

Strong synthesis and writing skills for the preparation of country reports and articles.

Organizational skills, ability to work autonomously.

Fluency in English and French  

Knowledge of research topics related to social protection or climate change would be an asset.

Master's degree in social sciences (economics, sociology, political science) or equivalent. 

STATUS

- 12-month fixed-term contract. Possibility of a one-year extension.

- Full time

- Remuneration according to qualifications.
 
RECRUITMENT PROCEDURE

Interviews will take place in June with the project team. 

Position to be filled quickly for a start in September 2025.

Thank you for sending your application (CV+ cover letter) to liepp@sciencespo.fr indicating in the subject of the message “WELRISCC project: RA application” before May 11, 2025.