Postdoctoral researcher in Sociology of Law – Amazon adapt

The postdoctoral researcher will work in the research project Preparing for the Unprecedented: Enabling local knowledges for effective adaptation in the Amazon, funded by FORMAS.

The project consists of researchers from Lund University Department of Sociology of Law and the Centre for Sustainability Science (LUCSUS).

The project aims to identify the legal, policy, and knowledge-based frameworks that can empower Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs) to adapt to climate stress in a way that preserves their cultural and environmental heritage, while enhancing their well-being and autonomy. By employing Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, we will study the real freedoms and opportunities IPLCs achieve meaningful adaptation. This project is essential because it targets the root causes of vulnerability—inequitable governance, marginalisation of traditional knowledge, and limited access to decision-making processes—and offers pathways to more just and effective adaptation strategies. This research uncovers how IPLC s already adapt and resist, and what barriers hinder their ability to fully exercise their agency. Our findings will inform policies that can strengthen these local adaptation strategies and ensure that IPLC s are not only participants in climate resilience but leaders of it. Four overarching questions guide this research:

1) What are the specific social, cultural and economic damages associated with climate change for communities in the Amazon?

2) How do IPLC s perceive and respond to climate extremes?

3) What are the resources (including traditional knowledge) and policies IPLC s need to better adapt and ensure their wellbeing? 4) How do formal and informal institutions (local, national and global) enable or hinder the capabilities of IPLCs to better respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change?

For a full project description, contact Ana_Maria.Vargas_Falla@soclaw.lu.se.

Duties

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the theoretical, methodological, and interdisciplinary study of adaptation to climate change in the Amazon. The postdoctoral researcher will be carrying out extensive fieldwork and other related duties chiefly in the Colombian Amazon region and neighbouring Amazonian countries, contribute to various project activities and outputs, including publishing findings in international journals and an edited volume, participating in workshops and other similar events, and presenting key findings at international conferences.

The postdoctoral position is planned to commence on 1 September 2026.

The position may involve teaching responsibilities of up to 20%, allocated in accordance with departmental requirements.

Qualifications

• Applicants must have obtained a PhD degree in the social sciences, preferably in sociology of law, sustainability science, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, human geography, or political science.
• Demonstrated experience in analysing legal texts and policies, as well as in examining how laws and regulatory frameworks are interpreted, negotiated, and applied in everyday life contexts
• Excellent command of Spanish and English, including the ability to conduct interviews, fieldwork, and community-based research in Spanish-speaking contexts.
• Demonstrated experience working in forested or rural environments with limited infrastructure or comfort, and the ability to conduct extended fieldwork under such conditions.
• Proven ability to work respectfully and collaboratively with marginalised communities, including Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, with sensitivity to cultural norms, local knowledge systems, and community-led research practices.

This position is intended for a junior researcher with an emphasis on candidates who have completed their PhD no more than two years prior to the expected start date. Applicants who are scheduled to defend their PhD no later than 15 June 2026 are welcome to apply; however, the position requires that the PhD be successfully defended before the start date

 Assessment criteria

 The research profile of the applicant, relevant experience to carry out fieldwork in tropical forests contexts and with IPLCs, the quality of the PhD dissertation, as well published or forthcoming articles in international and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journals are an important criterion in assessing suitability.

Good collaboration and communication skills are required, as is written and oral proficiency in English and Spanish.

The application must contain:

1. A cover letter in English of maximum 1.000 words, which contains a brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications, including experience in conducting empirical research in Amazonian or similar contexts, as well as a brief explanation of why you are interested in working on the Amazon Adapt project and in a postdoctoral position at the Department of Sociology of Law at Lund University.
2. A short proposal. Applicants must include a proposal of up to four pages demonstrating their understanding of the project’s aim to investigate how legal, policy, and knowledge-based frameworks shape the capabilities of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the Colombian Amazon to a changing environment. The proposal should outline possible strategies for data collection and analysis, covering both methodological and theoretical approaches, including but not limited to the Capability Approach and should articulate how the applicant’s expertise or ideas could expand or complement the study, for example by suggesting additional angles, concepts, or empirical strategies not already present in the project description.
3. A list of Publications.
4. A copy of your PhD dissertation and other publications in a Scandinavian language, Spanish or in English. If the PhD dissertation or other publication are written in a language other than Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or English, a summary of maximum 1,000 words is attached, including method, theory, analysis and results.
5. A CV in English or a Scandinavian language that demonstrates your qualifications for a postdoctoral position.
6. Degree and grade certificates in a Scandinavian language or in English.
7. Name and contact details of two reference persons.
8. Other documentation of relevance for the position.

Assessment of applicants is done on the above points and the top-ranking will be called for interview during May/June 2026.

Application Deadline: April 28th 2026.

The Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University is one of the leading education and research institutions in Sweden and operates both in Lund and Helsingborg.

Sociology of law at Lund University is a subject within Social sciences focusing on the relationship between law and society, such as the tension between the formal legislation of the government and the informal emergence of norms in civil society, among other contexts. Research is conducted in fields such as gender and discrimination, AI and machine learning, children’s rights, welfare, legal cultures, corruption, migration, financial security and crime. The department offers courses at all levels. The department also runs the bachelor’s program in criminology in collaboration with the Department of Sociology. The Sociology of Law Department is keen to engage in cross-disciplinary collaboration and has good contacts with professionals and public authorities.

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