DECRIPT program/ Post-Doctoral contract/ Scientific collaborator WP6-Civilizational narratives and the Middle East - Focus Near East

Position background and objectives

Founded in 1795, Inalco offers training in over 100 languages and in human and social sciences specializing in extra-Western areas, recognized in France and internationally. Drawing on 14 teams (8 UMRs and 6 proprietary units), research at Inalco combines areal and global studies and disciplinary fields.

The programme DECRIPT (Dispositif d'Études des Crises et Récits civilisationnels par la Pluridisciplinarité et les Terrains), funded by the France 2030 call for "Research programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences", is based on an ambitious scientific program in areal and global studies. Focusing on the analysis of the relationship between civilizational narratives, universalism, and conflictual logics on a global scale and in 4 key areas (Indo-Pacific, Africa, Ukraine and the former Soviet world, Near East and Middle East), DECRIPT aims to develop original research, as well as research instruments and mechanisms for transferring research to society and public action.The program approaches civilizational narratives as socially, strategically and ideologically constructed discourses, articulating specific interpretations of historical trajectories, cultural values and collective roles in the world order.

Piloted by Inalco, DECRIPT is based on a consortium of universities (Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Université Paris Panthéon-Assas, Université Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL), Université Sorbonne Nouvelle (USN), Université Paris 8, Université Bordeaux Montaigne (UBM), University of Strasbourg (UNISTRA), Sciences Po Paris, Sciences Po Bordeaux, Sciences Po Lille), research organizations (CNRS, IRD), and leading institutions in the practice of international relations and the transfer of research into public policy (AFD, IFRI). DECRIPT also relies on a network of over 50 stakeholders, including international players chosen to reinforce the program's scientific excellence, areal anchoring and transfer mechanisms.

Five post-doctoral fellows, integrated into DECRIPT's permanent team, will contribute to the project's scientific leadership and to the development of the transfer mechanisms of the work package for which they will be recruited respectively. They will devote at least 25% of their working time to collective tasks within the program, and 75% to the conduct of a research project related to the theme of their work package.

Recruited by Inalco within the framework of DECRIPT, working within one of the spaces dedicated to the project (Paris, Bordeaux or Lille), post-docs may be assigned to one of the following establishments: Inalco, Université Bordeaux Montaigne (UBM), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA), Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Université Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL), Sciences Po Bordeaux, Sciences Po Paris, IRD.

They will be part of the permanent DECRIPT team and will contribute to the scientific coordination and animation of their work package (WP), in close collaboration with the team (notably the scientific manager, the scientific coordinator, the operational follow-up officer, and the team of post-docs) and with the researchers involved in the scientific coordination of the program.

They will conduct their post-doctoral research project in conjunction with their mentor at their assigned institution.

Scientific profile

The Middle East program (WP6), studies the region as a crossroads of multidimensional tensions, involving civilizational narratives that have also influenced global imaginaries.

It examines the changing and contested nature of civilizational and identity politics on a regional scale, from pan-Arabism and (neo)Ottomanism to pan-Islamist and apoist perspectives, as well as on a national or local scale. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its neighboring developments, notably in Lebanon, as well as the Syrian conflict, serve as a focal point for analyzing how regional issues have generated transnational solidarities, shaped discourses of justice and legitimacy, and influenced mobilization practices in the region and beyond.

The post-doc will develop a project aimed at articulating these global and regional issues to an empirical field. The ideal candidate will have an excellent knowledge of the Middle East (Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and/or Syria), which constitutes the "focus" of WP6, but files from other areal specializations will also be studied with interest.

He/she will be able to focus in particular on the actors (writers, artists, journalists, activists) who contribute to the formation of civilizational narratives and counter-narratives through literary, artistic and journalistic works, the political translations of these narratives, and the dynamics of reception, mobilization and conflictuality in the chosen social and political contexts.

Having a doctorate in the humanities and social sciences - including areal studies, political science, public law, sociology, history, literature, anthropology, linguistics, economics, geography, information and communication sciences - the post-doctoral fellow will be able to back up his or her research objects with epistemological and methodological reflection in line with DECRIPT's scientific context and objectives.

He or she will be able to mobilize (or train in) a plurality of methods, including, for example, discourse analysis, lexicometrics, multiple correspondence analysis, concept genealogy, ethnographic fieldwork, semi-structured interviews or OSINT.

Open to collective research and multidisciplinary approaches, he or she will be able to link empirical research, epistemological questioning and methodological innovations.
By his or her capacity for initiative, he or she will contribute fully to the deployment of DECRIPT, the implementation of its scientific programming and the visibility of WP6.

Missions and activities

The post-doctoral fellow will have three main missions:
1. Work in support of the DECRIPT program (min. 25% of working time) in particular:
- Participation in team meetings for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the program;
- Support for the programming and organization of WP6 scientific and transfer activities (open seminar; researcher-practitioner meetings; publications; scientific events of the program);
- Contribution to the planning and realization of notes, podcasts and other transfer devices towards society and public policies of WP6.
2. Conduct a personal research project contributing to the scientific objectives of WP6, developing one of the research axes mentioned in the WP description, in particular by publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals.
3. Contribute to the development of a transversal reflection on the evolution of methods and instruments for research in areal and global studies, in close collaboration with the team dedicated to the program and the four other post-docs. This dimension will be reflected in particular by participation in seminars and training modules developed as part of WP2 (instruments and training for research).

Expected skills

• Required: PhD in SHS
• Skills in qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Ability and willingness to work in a multidisciplinary way
• Excellent writing skills
• Ability to work both autonomously and as part of a team
• Scientific rigor, curiosity and strong motivation
• Excellent command of English and at least one language of the region to access primary sources useful in the project ; fluency in French is desirable

HR information

Applications must be completed and sent no later than Sunday, May 11, 2025 at 6:00 pm (GMT+1).
They consist of two parts:
1. A administrative application form, to be completed at the following address: https://www.inalco.fr/form/decript-postdoctorat

2. A application file, to be sent to decript@inalco.fr (copy to drh-recrutements@inalco.fr ), comprising the following documents:
- Application letter including a description of the personal research project envisaged as part of the post-doctorate (five pages maximum, describing the research question, methods and main objectives of the post-doctoral project). The letter will specify whether the candidate wishes to be assigned as a priority to a consortium institution and/or a research unit among the consortium member institutions or research organizations, or whether he or she leaves this assignment to the discretion of the project steering committee, depending on his or her research focus and the program's priorities.

- Copy of PhD diploma or attestation of successful completion;
- Full CV and list of publications;
- Thesis defense report;
- Letter of recommendation;
- Optional: letter of support from a prospective post-doctoral mentor at one of the consortium member institutions or research organizations.
Candidates currently in the final year of their PhD may apply with a planned start date no later than October 1, 2025. They will then have to add to the file an attestation of defense date signed by their doctoral school.
Applications must be completed and sent no later than Sunday May 11, 2025 at 6:00 pm (GMT+1) to the following addresses: decript@inalco.fr copy to drh-recrutement@inalco.fr

Provisional timetable

• Date limite de candidature : 11 mai 2025
• Annonce des présélections : 13 mai 2025
• Auditions (par visioconférence ou en présentiel) : entre le 28 mai et le 5 juin 2025
• Annonce des résultats : 10 juin 2025
• Installation et signature du contrat : 1er septembre ou 1er octobre 2025