For Institute for the Analysis of Change in Contemporary and Historical Societies
Social sciences and humanities sector
Main campus : Louvain-la-Neuve
Fixed-term, full-time (100%) contract, until December 31, 2029
Starting date: January 2027
The Environment, Organisations, Society (EOS) research centre at UCLouvain (Belgium) is hiring a full-time postdoctoral researcher (3-year fixed-term contract) as part the FNRS-funded research project “SETBACK - A study of environmental justice backsliding”. The postdoc will be supervised by Prof. Brendan Coolsaet (FNRS/UCLouvain) and Prof. Louise Knops (ULB), co-PIs of the SETBACK project.
Project description
Environmental justice emerged in the United States through the decades-long struggle of a potent community-driven environmental justice movement. From this movement emerged a string of governmental initiatives reorganising its environmental policy according to the fact that minority and low-income populations are disproportionally impacted by pollution and environmental degradation. Environmental justice followed a clear institutionalization trajectory: after its emergence from grassroots movements, it became part of the institutional, academic and political ‘mainstream’. This trajectory of institutionalization came to a halt with, among others, the re-election of Donald Trump and the platform this gave to the scapegoating of environmental policies to meet the US far-right’s political objectives. During its first 100 days in office, Trump’s administration eliminated environmental justice from across the federal government, closed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) federal Environmental Justice Office and its 10 regional offices, and cancelled countless ongoing and planned research projects, grants, and fellowships on environmental and climate justice.
Environmental action and policy is meeting increasingly fierce resistance in Europe, too, through attacks on the EU’s Green Deal and increasing forms of climate backlash, the criminalization of environmental activism across many Western liberal democracies, and a resurgence of climate-denial, even as the evidence of accelerating climate change becomes a tangible lived experienced for increasing shares of the world population. Efforts to accelerate Europe’s environmental transformation have come up against “justice barriers”: environmental policies and climate action are likely to be undermined and contested if they are perceived to be unfair or illegitimate or if people's needs or voices are not adequately taken on board by decisionmakers. In a paradoxical turn of events, the fight against environmental policy has sometimes been done in the name of disenfranchised groups, portrayed as victims of transition policies mainly serving metropolitan elites. In a nutshell, in just a few years, and notwithstanding the longer history and socio-economic context in which these events unfold, environmental justice went from the political mainstream to the margins again – a phenomenon of environmental justice backsliding (EJB).
The aim of the SETBACK project is to both trace the history, emergence and democratic consequences of contemporary forms of environmental justice backsliding in the USA and beyond. The project studies how EJB reinforces, serves and is also the result of ongoing anti-democratic trends taken broadly (eg. authoritarianism, illiberalism, fascism) and, crucially, how resistance against EJB is taking shape.
Key responsibilities
The postdoc researcher will take stock, document, and trace the activist, scholarly, societal, and institutional landscape of the ongoing environmental justice backsliding in the USA (the specific geographic focus will be defined together). Research related to the project is organised around 3 core questions:
- How did we get here? What are the discourses, narratives, affects and practices which have shaped the emergence of EJB across institutional and non-institutional arenas? What are the structural, political and socio-economic root-causes of EJB?
- What are the consequences? How (through which repertoires of action) do environmental justice actors (communities, activist, institutional, or academic) resist EJB? What are the concrete impacts of EJB for minority groups and frontline communities?
- Where do we go from here? What are the broader democratic implications of EJB, in and beyond the US? And where does EJB intersect with other forms of mutually reinforcing environmental-democratic backsliding?
Tasks
- Systematic literature review, particularly to refine the methodological approach and conceptual framework prior to fieldwork;
- Field trips and participant observation, including extensive interviews with frontline communities, environmental justice movements, scholars and (current or former) public agencies staff in the USA;
- Co-supervise and work in tandem with Aurore Migeotte, PhD student on the project focusing on EJB in Europe, guiding their research in alignment with the goals of the project
- Communicate and promote the project’s results to a broad audience.
Desired qualification
- Ph.D. in a social science discipline (awarded by the time of appointment) related to the SETBACK project’s themes (environmental justice, environmental politics, environmental governance, environmental democracy, environmental movements, political ecology, etc) – other disciplinary backgrounds will be considered only if the candidate has relevant work experience in the field of environmental justice/politics;
- A proven track record working and/or doing research in the field of environmental justice studies;
- Experience with qualitative and participatory research methods, including ethnographic fieldwork; past fieldwork experience in the USA would be a significant asset.
- Strong scientific publication record;
- Excellent command of English; knowledge of French would ease administrative integration;
- Ability to organize one’s time and work independently, meet deadlines, and manage competing priorities.
Offer
- 3-year fixed-term contract in a dynamic and international research environment at one of Europe’s leading research universities;
- A competitive postdoctoral salary or scholarship (average in 2026 with 2 years of working experience after the PhD: 3.233,41 EUR net/month), including healthcare, paid holidays and other social benefits;
- Professional travel and fieldwork allowances;
- A laptop computer, office space and library access;
- Reimbursement of commuting expenses by public transport in Belgium.
The position does not include a relocation allowance.
How and where to apply?
Applicants are invited to submit their applications online at: https://jobs.uclouvain.be/ by December 14, 2026. Please include only the documents listed below. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview in December 2026 (in person in Louvain-la-Neuve or online via Microsoft Teams). The start date will be as soon as possible after the interviews and no later than January 2027.
The application (to be written in English) must include the following documents:
- An academic resume including a list of publications;
- A cover letter in which the candidate briefly outlines their interest in the topic and their expectations for the research project; (max. 2 pages)
- A statement on expertise, detailing previous research experience on environmental justice; (max. 1 page)
- Two peer-reviewed publications demonstrating the candidate’s suitability and scientific fit with the advertised position;
- The names and contact details of two academic referees.
We are open to international applicants and can offer assistance for the right candidate to acquire the legal right to live and work in the European Union. The selected candidate will be required to establish residence in Belgium as soon as possible after the appointment.
UCLouvain advances its commitment to inclusion and equity through its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan by ensuring equal recruitment opportunities. UCLouvain is a signatory and member of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and commits to recognise the diversity of contributions (outputs, practices, and activities) that maximise quality and impact of research.
Any additional information may be obtained from Chantal Herman at chantal.herman@uclouvain.be.
