Summary of work
The studentship is linked to the REDEFINE project which is funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant and led by Professor Giles Mohan. REDEFINE seeks to examine the impacts of China’s growing role in European infrastructure investment and what this means for both Europe’s place in the world and understandings of global development.
We are looking for a dynamic PhD candidate whose project will complement REDEFINE’s core focus and build on it in exciting new ways. If successful you will join the REDEFINE team made up of established and early career researchers, a dedicated administrative team, as well as other students working on similar issues outside of the REDEFINE project. This is a great chance to be part of path-breaking and prestigious project.
Background to REDEFINE
The 2013-16 period saw China investing heavily across Europe and it is likely to remain an important source of finance especially as a new EU-China Investment Agreement was signed in December 2020. While China views Europe as fertile ground for infrastructure investment, many European firms and governments are ill-equipped to deal with these political and economic changes. The REDEFINE project is structured around 3 broad themes. We welcome a PhD project that addresses one or more of these themes in innovative and original ways:
Theme 1: Driving - Understanding the motives for China’s move westwards & Europe’s infrastructure needs China has increased investment and trade with resource-producing countries, but Chinese firms are also seeking technology, know-how and experience of international business. REDEFINE aims to better understand the range of Chinese firms operating in Europe, assess their business models, and track China’s changing policy environment that shapes their internationalisation.
Theme 2: Gathering - Understanding the multi-scaled modalities of infrastructure projects China’s involvement in Europe will include both state-sponsored investment vehicles and corporations and private sources of investment that tend to be less regulated. REDEFINE focuses on the nature and experience of the emergent partnerships between Chinese and European firms, as well as the engagement of Chinese investors with national state agencies at local, regional and national levels.
Theme 3 - Understanding the outcomes of & reactions to Chinese investment As recent EU policy has acknowledged, regulation of Chinese investments is critical given a range of concerns around financial probity, security, intellectual property and standards. Linked to analyzing regulation are other outcomes so REDEFINE aims to assess a range of issues including economic localisation, regulation, political resistance, and broader changes in identity.
Methodology
While REDEFINE uses mainly qualitative techniques we welcome PhD proposals using any methods that are appropriate to the questions being posed by the candidate. The key is that your project is innovative, original and rigorous.
To interrogate the global connections around infrastructure assemblages, REDEFINE will use process tracing where the focus is on particular projects and through thick description we identify key actors and outcomes and then track back to see whether they were linked through specific causal relationships. This approach requires prolonged, systematic engagement with various stakeholders in collecting a large amount of mainly qualitative data.
All cases concern major infrastructure investments above €100 million, and include large real estate and urban regeneration projects, alongside those more usually considered infrastructure (e.g. railways). REDEFINE focuses on the inter-connections between China and Europe, as well as how wider connections, notably the changing role of the USA, play into these. But it also differentiates between countries that China engages with along different development trajectories; notably Central and Eastern European countries are quite distinct from those industrial and post-industrial economies in North-Western Europe. The selection of case studies - UK, Germany, Greece and Hungary – captures this variegated economic geography and the different rationales on the part of China.
Further details
We welcome candidates with a background in some combination of relevant social science disciplines, including but not limited to: human geography, planning, politics, international relations, sociology, economics, social anthropology, or development studies.
We encourage candidates who will take an open and fresh approach to this exciting research project.
This is a full-time, three-year studentship, beginning in February 2022, based in Milton Keynes. Students are normally expected to live within commuting distance of Milton Keynes. Each studentship will provide for the full fees of a three-year full-time PhD studentship at The Open University as well as an approximate maintenance grant of £15,285 a year[T1] .
International students are welcome to apply. If your first language is not English, you will need to verify your competence in the English Language in all four elements (reading, writing, listening and speaking). The University requires a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any of the four categories (or approved equivalent). You should have your level of proficiency certified through a provider approved by UK Visas and Immigration and provide your certificate and grade with your application.
During this exceptional time, plans for supporting students in their studies are being reviewed regularly. The university has remained open through the pandemic however the campus is currently closed with the exception of staff and students who have priority need to work on campus. The university has extensive experience in supporting students remotely. When it is safe to do so, students and staff will return to campus. We will keep you updated as the university reopens its campus over the next few months and what this means for students who will commence their studies with us.
For further information about the studentship, your eligibility, your application and proposal informally please contact REDEFINE’s principal investigator, Professor Giles Mohan ([Email Address Removed]).
Closing Date: 17.00 GMT on Tuesday 21st September. Interviews will form part of the selection process and will be held in October 2021, either in person (if safe and possible to do so) or remotely via videoconference.
The successful applicant would be expected to begin their studies in February 2022.
Equal opportunity is University Policy.
[T1]The OU maintenance grant is maintained at the level set by UKRI so this grant will increase over the 3-year degree.
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