MSCA PF Offer: Department of Asian Studies, supervisor doc. Gerstl

The Department of Asian Studies at the Faculty of Arts at Palacký University Olomouc (FF UP) focuses on educational, scientific, and research activities concerning contemporary languages and cultures in Asia. The institution orientates its studies on China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. With this specialisation, the department offers degree courses on undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate level and currently intends to broaden its team with welcoming MSCA Postdoctoral Fellows on its board.

Supervisor:

Assoc. Prof. Mag. Dr. Alfred Gerstl is an International Relations (IR) specialist at the Department of Asian Studies with a focus on the Indo-Pacific, notably Southeast Asia. Besides being an internationally experienced supervisor, he is currently head of two EU funded research projects and of Palacký University’s Indo-Pacific Hub.

Preferred research topics:

• Geopolitics and geo-economics in the Indo-Pacific and the impacts of the Sino-US rivalry

• Current conflicts, including the South and East China Seas disputes, Taiwan, and North Korea

• Non-traditional security threats, including climate change, poverty and underdevelopment, and terrorism

• Minilateral and regional relations and cooperation in Northeast and Southeast Asia (ASEAN, AUKUS, and the Quad)

• Hedging strategies in Southeast Asia

• The role of the European Union in the Indo-Pacific

• Strategic and economic impacts of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Candidate requirements:

Candidates must be interested in one of the above stated or closely related topics. They can approach the topic from different disciplinary backgrounds, including International Relations, Political Science, Global Studies, Development Studies, or related study programs. The candidate also needs to fulfil the following MSCA-PF requirements:

• Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) for no longer than 8 years at submission (exceptions for career breaks)

• Residency in the Czech Republic must not exceed 12 months within the past 3 years at submission

Submit the following to alfred.gerstl@upol.cz by 15.4.2026:

• Research outline (including research objectives, novelty, state of the art and methodology),and

• your CV with most important publications of the 5 last years.