Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.

Amazon Adapt - Preparing for the Unprecedented: Enabling Local Knowledges for Effective Adaptation in the Amazon

The postdoctoral researcher will work in the research project Preparing for the Unprecedented: Enabling local knowledges for effective adaptation in the Amazon, funded by FORMAS.

The project consists of researchers from Lund University Department of Sociology of Law and the Centre for Sustainability Science (LUCSUS).

The project aims to identify the legal, policy, and knowledge-based frameworks that can empower Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs) to adapt to climate stress in a way that preserves their cultural and environmental heritage, while enhancing their well-being and autonomy. By employing Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, we will study the real freedoms and opportunities IPLCs achieve meaningful adaptation. This project is essential because it targets the root causes of vulnerability—inequitable governance, marginalisation of traditional knowledge, and limited access to decision-making processes—and offers pathways to more just and effective adaptation strategies. This research uncovers how IPLCs already adapt and resist, and what barriers hinder their ability to fully exercise their agency. Our findings will inform policies that can strengthen these local adaptation strategies and ensure that IPLCs are not only participants in climate resilience but leaders of it.

Four overarching questions guide this research:

1. What are the specific social, cultural and economic damages associated with climate change for communities in the Amazon?
2. How do IPLCs perceive and respond to climate extremes?
3. What are the resources (including traditional knowledge) and policies IPLCs need to better adapt and ensure their wellbeing?
4. How do formal and informal institutions (local, national and global) enable or hinder the capabilities of IPLCs to better respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change?

For a full project description, contact Ana_Maria.Vargas_Falla@soclaw.lu.se.

Duties

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the theoretical, methodological, and interdisciplinary study of adaptation to climate change in the Amazon.

The postdoctoral researcher will be carrying out extensive fieldwork and other related duties chiefly in the Colombian Amazon region and neighbouring Amazonian countries, contribute to various project activities and outputs, including publishing findings in international journals and an edited volume, participating in workshops and other similar events, and presenting key findings at international conferences.

The postdoctoral position is planned to commence on 1 September 2026.

The position may involve teaching responsibilities of up to 20%, allocated in accordance with departmental requirements.

Qualifications

Applicants must have obtained a PhD degree in the social sciences, preferably in:

• sociology of law
• sustainability science
• anthropology
• sociology
• cultural studies
• human geography
• political science

Additional requirements:

• Demonstrated experience in analysing legal texts and policies, as well as in examining how laws and regulatory frameworks are interpreted, negotiated, and applied in everyday life contexts.
• Excellent command of Spanish and English, including the ability to conduct interviews, fieldwork, and community-based research in Spanish-speaking contexts.
• Demonstrated experience working in forested or rural environments with limited infrastructure or comfort, and the ability to conduct extended fieldwork under such conditions.
• Proven ability to work respectfully and collaboratively with marginalised communities, including Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, with sensitivity to cultural norms, local knowledge systems, and community-led research practices.

This position is intended for a junior researcher, with emphasis on candidates who have completed their PhD no more than two years prior to the expected start date.

Applicants scheduled to defend their PhD no later than 15 June 2026 are welcome to apply; however, the position requires that the PhD be successfully defended before the start date.

Assessment Criteria

The following will be considered in evaluating applicants:

• The research profile of the applicant.
• Relevant experience to carry out fieldwork in tropical forest contexts and with IPLCs.
• The quality of the PhD dissertation.
• Published or forthcoming articles in international and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journals.

Good collaboration and communication skills are required, as is written and oral proficiency in English and Spanish.

The Application Must Contain

• A cover letter in English (maximum 1,000 words), including a brief presentation of yourself and your qualifications, including experience conducting empirical research in Amazonian or similar contexts, and why you are interested in the Amazon Adapt project and the postdoctoral position at the Department of Sociology of Law at Lund University.
• A short proposal (up to four pages) demonstrating understanding of the project’s aim to investigate how legal, policy, and knowledge-based frameworks shape the capabilities of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the Colombian Amazon to a changing environment.
  • Outline strategies for data collection and analysis.
  • Cover methodological and theoretical approaches, including but not limited to the Capability Approach.
  • Explain how the applicant’s expertise or ideas could expand or complement the study.
• A list of publications.
• A copy of your PhD dissertation and other publications in a Scandinavian language, Spanish or English.
  If written in another language, attach a summary of maximum 1,000 words including method, theory, analysis and results.
• A CV in English or a Scandinavian language demonstrating qualifications for a postdoctoral position.
• Degree and grade certificates in a Scandinavian language or English.
• Names and contact details of two reference persons.
• Other documentation of relevance for the position.

Assessment of applicants is based on the above points, and top-ranking candidates will be invited for interviews during May/June 2026.

Application Deadline

April 28th 2026

About the Faculty

The Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University is one of the leading education and research institutions in Sweden and operates in both Lund and Helsingborg.

Sociology of law at Lund University is a subject within social sciences focusing on the relationship between law and society, such as the tension between formal legislation of the government and informal norms emerging in civil society. Research fields include:

• gender and discrimination
• AI and machine learning
• children's rights
• welfare
• legal cultures
• corruption
• migration
• financial security
• crime

The department offers courses at all levels and runs the Bachelor’s program in criminology in collaboration with the Department of Sociology.

The Sociology of Law Department encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration and maintains strong connections with professionals and public authorities.

Employment Details

• Type of employment: Temporary position
• Contract type: Full time
• Salary: Månadslön
• Number of positions: 1
• Full-time equivalent: 100
• City: Lund
• County: Skåne län
• Country: Sweden
• Reference number: PA2026/854

Contact

Johanna Dahlin
HR administratör
Email: johanna.dahlin@sam.lu.se

Ana Maria Vargas Falla
Email: Ana_Maria.Vargas_Falla@soclaw.lu.se