Lille Economics and Management (LEM, CNRS UMR 9221) and IÉSEG School of Management invite applications for a fully funded Ph.D. position in Economic Geography at its Lille campus.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This PhD position is part of the Horizon Europe project JUSTPLACE – Justice and Participation through Localised and Citizen-Centred Engagement: Redesigning Democracy through People-in-Places Strategies.

JUSTPLACE examines the relationships between economic inequalities, territorial inequalities, perceived injustice, democratic trust and citizen participation across European territories. The project starts from a central observation: inequalities do not produce the same political effects everywhere. Economically fragile territories may sustain strong forms of civic mobilisation, while relatively prosperous territories may develop feelings of abandonment, institutional distance or symbolic invisibility.

The project adopts a people-in-places approach, which connects individuals’ social characteristics with the territorial settings in which they live. It analyses how personal disadvantages, related for instance to income, age, education or employment status, interact with territorial disadvantages, such as peripherality, limited access to services, weak media visibility, institutional distance or local development trajectories.

Within this framework, IÉSEG School of Management is recruiting a PhD candidate in geography, economic geography, regional studies, spatial planning, territorial studies or place-based public policy. The PhD candidate will contribute to the scientific activities of JUSTPLACE while developing an original

doctoral research project on the links between territorial inequalities, spatial justice and democratic dynamics.

General objective of the PhD

The PhD will analyse how objective and perceived territorial inequalities influence democratic trust, forms of civic participation and feelings of injustice across European territories.

The research may address questions such as:

• How do residents perceive their position within national and European territorial hierarchies?

• Under what conditions do territorial inequalities generate distrust, abstention, civic withdrawal or, conversely, collective mobilisation?

• How do institutional recognition and misrecognition shape residents’ relationship with democracy

• What differences can be observed between rural, peri-urban, urban, industrial, post-industrial, border or peripheral territories?

• How can statistical data, mapping, interviews and participatory methods be combined to produce a fine-grained geography of territorial justice?

The PhD should make an original contribution to geography by combining spatial analysis, qualitative fieldwork and theoretical reflection on territorial justice, inequalities and democracy.

Main responsibilities

The PhD candidate will contribute to the scientific implementation of JUSTPLACE while developing their own doctoral research.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• conduct a literature review on spatial justice, territorial inequalities, left-behind places, democratic resilience, citizen participation and people-in-places policies;

• contribute to the development of the theoretical framework linking economic geography, political geography, regional studies and territorial policy;

• analyse objective and perceived territorial inequalities at different spatial scales;

• contribute to the collection, processing and organisation of territorial data;

• support the construction or use of spatial indicators related to inequality, access to services, democratic trust, political participation or media visibility;

• conduct qualitative fieldwork through semi-structured interviews, focus groups or observations in one or several case-study territories;

• contribute to the Democracy Studios, which are participatory spaces bringing together citizens, elected officials, civil society organisations, local stakeholders and researchers;

• analyse narratives of injustice, recognition, territorial abandonment and civic mobilisation;

• contribute to scientific and operational deliverables within the project;

• prepare academic papers, conference presentations and dissemination outputs;

• participate in JUSTPLACE consortium meetings and exchanges with European partners.

Possible scientific orientations

The precise PhD topic will be refined with the selected candidate, depending on their profile, skills and scientific interests. Several orientations are possible.

1. Geography of territorial inequalities and democratic trust

   1. The PhD may analyse the relationships between socio-economic disparities, access to services, territorial trajectories and institutional trust.

2. Spatial justice and perceptions of territorial abandonment

   1. The PhD may examine how residents construct narratives of injustice, marginalisation, institutional distance or territorial misrecognition.

3. Peripheral territories, civic participation and democratic resilience

   1. The PhD may compare territories affected by structural disadvantages that nevertheless maintain forms of collective mobilisation, civic engagement or democratic innovation.

4. Mapping democratic vulnerabilities

   1. The PhD may contribute to the spatial analysis of links between inequality, abstention, protest voting, civic mobilisation, local media access and territorial recognition.

5. Qualitative and participatory analysis of Democracy Studios

   1. The PhD may focus on the participatory dimension of JUSTPLACE and examine how residents, elected officials and local actors formulate democratic expectations and territorial grievances.

 ABOUT IÉSEG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT 

• IÉSEG is AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA accredited and is a member of the “Conférence des Grandes Écoles.” 

• The IÉSEG Research Center is accredited by the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). 

• IÉSEG’s faculty is very diverse with more than 40 different nationalities represented. 

ABOUT LILLE ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT (LEM) 

• LEM is a research unit associating the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), the University of Lille and the Catholic University of Lille  

• LEM comprises about 150 researchers and 100 doctoral students in economics, management and statistics.  

• Research at LEM is multi-disciplinary in economics and management and is centered on societal issues. 

• LEM is a young, internationally oriented and dynamic laboratory with a strong scientific ambition. 

QUALIFICATIONS  

Applicants should hold a Master’s degree, or equivalent qualification, in one of the following fields:

• geography;

• economic geography;

• social geography;

• political geography;

• spatial planning and urban studies;

• regional science;

• territorial studies;

• place-based public policy;

• urban or rural sociology;

• political science with a strong territorial dimension;

• territorial economics or regional development.

Applicants should demonstrate:

• a strong interest in territorial inequalities, spatial justice, democracy and public policy;

• the ability to connect theoretical reflection with empirical analysis;

• good knowledge of social science research methods;

• the capacity to work with territorial data;

• an interest in mixed-methods research combining statistics, mapping, interviews and qualitative analysis;

• strong academic writing skills;

• the ability to work in an international and interdisciplinary research environment.

Required skills

The following skills will be particularly appreciated:

• experience with qualitative research methods, including interviews, focus groups, thematic analysis and coding;

• knowledge of quantitative methods applied to social sciences;

• ability to read, write and present scientific work in English;

• proficiency in French, especially for conducting fieldwork in France;

• autonomy, rigour, organisational skills and respect for deadlines.

• Previous experience in a research project, research internship, fieldwork assignment or territorial data analysis will be considered an asset.

WORKING CONDITIONS  

Scientific environment

The PhD candidate will join an international and interdisciplinary research environment within a Horizon Europe consortium bringing together universities, research centres, institutional actors and civil society organisations working on inequalities, democracy, citizen participation and territorial justice.

The PhD will be supervised at IÉSEG School of Management, within CNRS – LEM, Lille Économie Management. The candidate will benefit from access to JUSTPLACE scientific activities, project data, exchanges with European partners, and seminars and events organised within the project.

The project offers a strong environment for a PhD combining academic research, fieldwork, spatial analysis and contributions to European debates on territorial democracy.

The successful candidate is expected to start either in September 2026, and will be based at the Lille Campus of IÉSEG School of Management. The PhD candidate will work full time under a 3-year fixed-term research contract. Gross salary will be competitive with other European research and academic institutions (2300€/month). The PhD student will have access to university facilities, libraries, and restaurants. They will be enrolled in the University of Lille’s PhD program and will participate in doctoral training activities organized by LEM and the SESAM Doctoral School.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE 

Applicants should submit:

• a detailed CV;

• a cover letter;

• a research proposal of 3 to 5 pages;

• a Master’s thesis or an example of academic writing;

• the name of two referees who may be contacted.

Interested candidates must send their application through this platform. To submit your application, please click on "apply" and follow the submission process. 

For any further question, please contact us by e-mail to phd.recruitment@ieseg.fr.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

We will begin considering candidates immediately and will continue until the position is filled. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.