Postdoc Position in Human Geography: The Geopolitics of EU Energy Externalities

1. Introduction

The Department of Geography, Spatial Planning and Environment (GPM) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to develop and carry out a research project on the theme of ‘The geopolitics of green hydrogen: the case of South Africa and the Netherlands’. 

2. Job description

The research is funded by start-up and incentive grants and will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Noura Alkhalili.

In broad terms, the research is concerned with green finance; energy partnerships and trade; investment strategies; and material infrastructure as they relate to the EU’s plans to diversify its energy supply and achieve energy security and decarbonisation by 2050 in compliance with the European Green Deal (EGD). Within this thematic scope, this research is concerned with the extra-territorial repercussions of the EU’s energy policy and energy trade, as well as with emerging energy frontiers, specifically the green hydrogen frontier. The research will focus on plans to export green hydrogen from South Africa to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Hence, this research puts emphasis on the South Africa-Netherlands energy relations during current green energy transitions and connects this focus to the wider enduring colonial legacies of the EU.

In your postdoctoral position, you will conduct this research independently, including the anticipated fieldwork in South Africa (and possibly at other locations) in relation to the overall research theme on EU energy externalities. You will collaborate with Dr Noura Alkhalili, who will conduct fieldwork in the Netherlands (and the EU more broadly), paying special attention to the port of Rotterdam. Dr Noura Alkhalili’s work focuses on themes of energy externalities, energy imperialism, green extractivism, coloniality and energy justice. Based on your fieldwork, and in collaboration with Dr Alkhalili, you will engage with critical, timely and decolonial conceptual frameworks to unpack the export of green hydrogen from South Africa to the Netherlands. You will also work in collaboration with Dr Alkhalili to co-author publications, organise workshops and convene panels at academic conferences.

This postdoctoral researcher position involves 20% teaching duties. This includes the provision of courses at Bachelor’s and Master’s degree levels as well as the supervision of Bachelor’s and Master’s theses.

3. Profile

• You have a PhD in Human Geography, Environmental Politics, Political Geography or Anthropology, (or a related discipline).
• Your research interests engage with some of the following fields as evidenced by academic publications: political ecology, critical political economy, political geography, critical geography and geopolitics, energy imperialism, green extractivism and decolonial scholarship.
• You have a strong command of empirical research methods.
• You have experience conducting fieldwork and you have proven to be a reflexive and a critical scholar in the field.
• You are fluent in English (excellent oral and written communication skills).
• You can work both independently and in collaboration with colleagues.
• You are able to teach at BA/MA levels and supervise BA/MA theses within the domain of human geography (broadly defined).

Desirables:

• You have experience teaching and supervising BA and/or MA students.
• You have knowledge of a South African language and/or previous experience in South Africa.

4. We are

As part of the Geography, Planning and Environment department (GPE), the Human Geography Chair Group is a growing, dynamic and collaborative collective of engaged scholars. Our teaching activities specialise in Urban and Cultural Geography, Border Studies and Migration, Geopolitics of Conflict and Energy, as well as Critical Economic Geography. Our teaching programmes are informed by our research agendas. Our current group of Geographers at Radboud University has substantially enriched conceptual, methodological and empirical debates on, among others, urban public space, (b)ordering of spaces, regional economic innovation systems, migrant transnationalism and mobility/immobility, cross-border governance, processes of securitisation, geographies of outer space, geographies of care, capitalist extraction, energy and coloniality, and decolonial scholarship. We feel committed to a critical and constructive approach to research that addresses topical debates and is theoretically incisive, methodologically innovative and justice oriented. These values are reflected in our teaching practices.

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 32 months.
• Your salary with a maximum starting scale till  salary scale 10.5  depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• We offer Dual Career Coaching. The Dual Career Coaching assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Noura Alkhalili. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first interviews will take place on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 June. You will preferably start your employment on 1 September 2025.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates. If you wish to apply for a non-scientific position with a non-EU nationality, please take notice of the following information.