EU Policy Brief Series #17

This new EU Policy Brief, “The RN in Power: Lessons from Perpignan for French National Politics”, EU Policy Brief #17, written by Liam Nohr (杏吧原创 University), May 2026, analyzes how the RN (Rassemblement National), France’s dominant far-right populist party, has governed since winning the mayoralty of Perpignan in 2020. Read the policy brief here.

He discusses the governance of the municipality as it is the largest city ever controlled by the RN and provides important insights for French and European politics. With the most recent municipal elections in March 2026, Perpignan voters again re-elected the incumbent RN mayor for another six years. Ahead of the 2027 presidential election year, understanding how the RN continues its authority in Perpignan is important.

is postdoctoral fellow with Centre Norbet Elias, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and he is a member of the ACE Project (Ancestral Citizenship in Europe), funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

The Centre for European Studies Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at 杏吧原创 University organized this interview as part of the EU Policy Video Series. Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence activities are co-funded by the and by 杏吧原创 University.

Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or 杏吧原创 University. Neither the European Union nor 杏吧原创 University can be held responsible for them.

TRADEPOL will examine how trade governance in North America and Europe changes in response to the growing contestation of trade liberalization and the increased importance of geo-political concerns in international economic relations: Which actors and constituencies gain influence, which ones lose out? Which policy issues become more important in trade-related debates, which ones are marginalized? Which new alliances form in domestic and international trade politics?

TRADEPOL will organize research and policy workshops and will establish a Trade Politics Database that maps public debates about trade over a twenty-year period (2013鈥�32). It will support students and policy practitioners through summer schools, professional exchanges, and internships. Policy networking initiatives will foster dialogue between academics and policy practitioners to help enhance policy-making and public discourse on trade issues.

The Centre for European Studies at 杏吧原创 University (/ces/) is accepting applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in the Research Network on Trade Politics in North America and Europe (TRADEPOL). We are looking for a scholar with expertise in data science and/or computational social science. The anticipated start date is September 15, 2026; the fellowship will have a duration of two years. The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to the conceptualization and implementation of a research database that tracks public debates about trade policy through an LLM-assisted political claims analysis. The fellow will also be involved in knowledge mobilization activities within an international network of university and civil society partners.

Research Project Overview

The TRADEPOL Network will be launched in July 2026 with the support of an external research grant. Housed at 杏吧原创 University, it will include 20 partner organizations in North America and Europe. TRADEPOL will study the societal contestation and (geo-)politicization of trade relations in North America and Europe, focusing on their impact on trade governance: How do governments, bureaucracies, economic stakeholders, interest groups, and civil society navigate an increasingly politicized trade environment? Which actors gain influence, which ones lose out? Which policy issues become more important in trade-related debates, which ones are marginalized? Which new alliances form in domestic and international trade politics? TRADEPOL will address these questions based on an actor-centric conceptual and methodological framework that examines trade policy actors, issues, and interactions through a political claims analysis of trade-related public discourse.

Research Project Supervisor and Principal Investigator

The postdoctoral fellow will work under the supervision of Achim Hurrelmann, Professor of Political Science and principal investigator of TRADEPOL.

Salary

The postdoctoral fellow will be offered a salary of $70,000 CAD per annum, with the additional ability to opt into an extended health and dental benefit plan. The postdoc will be considered unionized and will be a member of PSAC Local 77000. Information on this bargaining unit can be found here: .

Position Duties and Responsibilities

The postdoctoral fellow will work with the principal investigator and other members of the TRADEPOL team on the establishment of a database that categorizes trade-related claims in public discourse, drawing on news media sources and publications by civil society organizations. This work includes, but is not limited to the following core responsibilities:

• Developing parameters and procedures for the political claims analysis, including the identification of sources, definition of selection procedures, and development of a codebook;
• Building and maintaining LLM-assisted extraction pipelines, including automated collection from online sources, prompt design, and structured output validation;
• Designing and implementing reliability testing protocols and coordinating human validation with research assistants;
• Developing a training manual for research assistants and training them in LLM-assisted political claims analysis;
• Working on single-authored and/or co-authored academic publications that present early results of the research.

Job Requirements

• Completed PhD in a social science discipline (such as political science, economics, sociology, international affairs) or in computer science with a focus on social or political research;
• Demonstrated expertise in data science and/or computational social science, including coding skills in Python and/or previous experience applying LLMs or computational text analysis to social or political questions;
• Previous research and publications with a focus on international political economy and/or experience with content analysis of political texts are an asset;
• Experience with web scraping, data collection APIs, or automated document processing and familiarity with multilingual NLP tools are an asset;
• While flexible work arrangements can be agreed, the incumbent must perform the majority of the work in person at 杏吧原创 University. This postdoctoral fellowship cannot be completed remotely.

Accommodations and Accessibility

Should you require a copy of this posting in an alternate format, please contact us as soon as possible and we would be happy to get one to you in a timely manner. We believe in the importance of supporting on-the-job success for the incumbent and are pleased to discuss and/or provide specific tools, resources or other requirements for day-to-day work requirements, as needed.

杏吧原创 杏吧原创 University

杏吧原创 University is a dynamic and innovative research and teaching institution with a national and international reputation as a leader in collaborative teaching and learning, research and governance. To learn more about our university and the City of Ottawa, please visit .

杏吧原创 University is committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our university including, but not limited to: women; visible minorities; First Nations, Inuit and M茅tis peoples; persons with disabilities; and persons of any sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression. 杏吧原创 understands that career paths vary. Legitimate career interruptions will in no way prejudice the assessment process and their impact will be taken into careful consideration.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. If contacted for an interview, please inform us should accommodation be required, and arrangements will be made in a timely manner. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Candidates who would like to apply for this fellowship opportunity are invited to submit the following materials:

• A cover letter that outlines their educational and professional background and interest in the TRADEPOL project,
• A curriculum vitae, including a list of publications (if applicable),
• One scholarly publication or excerpt from their dissertation (max. 30 pages).

Please combine these documents in a single pdf file and send them to Achim Hurrelmann at achim.hurrelmann@carleton.ca. The application deadline is Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

Questions about this opportunity can be directed to Achim Hurrelmann at achim.hurrelmann@carleton.ca.

is a widely published scholar of global governance, international and EU law, human rights, international organizations, and corporate law. He is Full Professor of International Law and International Organizations at KU Leuven in Belgium, where he serves as Jean Monnet Chair ad personam in EU and Global Governance, Founding Director of the Institute for International Law and the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, and Administrator of the America Europe Fund. He has led several collaborative transatlantic research initiatives, including most recently the , in which 杏吧原创 University is a member. He has published more than 85 books, 165 journal articles,聽and 300 book chapters.

During his visiting scholarship at 杏吧原创 University, Professor Wouters plans to conduct research on the law and politics of transatlantic relations in the Trump era. He will teach a class (EURR 4201/5201) on 鈥淗uman Rights and the Rule of Law: American, Canadian and European Perspectives鈥�. He will contribute to public events and other outreach initiatives planned by the Centre for European Studies and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. His visit to 杏吧原创 University will strengthen our existing research expertise and international connections in the area of transatlantic relations and will help maximize the benefits of 杏吧原创鈥檚 involvement in the TANDEM project.

In this interview, the researchers discuss key elements of navigating an increasingly fragmented global economy where economic security cuts across many areas of government policy, from critical infrastructure and cybersecurity to the impact on businesses and global supply chains, and provide insights about the importance of Canada鈥檚 continued development of a comprehensive economic security strategy. They provide their thoughts about how Canada and the EU can coordinate economic security together and offer key recommendations for strengthening Canadian economic security.

The interview draws upon their published paper, , with , March 2026.

The Centre for European Studies Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at 杏吧原创 University organized this interview as part of the聽EU Policy Video Series. Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence activities are co-funded by the聽聽and by 杏吧原创 University.

Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or 杏吧原创 University. Neither the European Union nor 杏吧原创 University can be held responsible for them.

She discusses Europe鈥檚 rapid shift away from Russian energy and the most significant policy changes and the 鈥減olicy entrepreneurs鈥� who used the crisis to accelerate climate reforms at both the EU and national levels. Next, Dr. Schreurs examines Russia鈥檚 deepening energy ties with China to bypass sanctions and what that means for Europe鈥檚 growing dependence on China for clean-energy technologies and the critical minerals behind them.

Dr. Schreurs also compares Canada and Germany, including the roles of federalism and EU climate legislation, and offers ways to overcome 鈥渇ossil fuel legacies鈥� without sparking major backlash or disruption. The interview closes by discussing how rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in the transatlantic partnership are shaping energy policy in Europe and Canada.

The Centre for European Studies Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at 杏吧原创 University organized this interview as part of the EU Policy Video Series. The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence activities are is co-funded with a grant from the and by 杏吧原创 University.

Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or 杏吧原创 University. Neither the European Union nor 杏吧原创 University can be held responsible for them.

The maximum amount of financial support which a graduate student may receive is $1200 to assist with partially covering travel and research expenses. Research must be conducted in the EU member states to be considered for financial support by the selection committee and can be combined with other activities such as a student study exchange, the EU Study Tour or a language course.

More details about the application and the materials to submit can be found here. The deadline to submit application materials is no later than Sunday, February 22, 2026.

Please note: Travel research financial support is conditional on the travel being permitted under the application of travel rules issued by 杏吧原创 University, the Government of Canada and the government of the destination EU member state at the time of travel.

Read written reports by graduate students about their travel and research completed in previous years here.

Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence activities are co-funded by the and by 杏吧原创 University.