2 PhD Positions at Erasmus University Rotterdam

GRIP-ARM research project is looking for 2 PhD candidates. Each prospective student will work on one of the work packages of the ERC project, with emphasis on a country case study. The case studies, and therefore the success of the grant, are dependent on the capacity of the researchers to conduct fieldwork in sites known as being difficult places of obtaining data.

PhD 1: Accelerated exploitation through resource nationalism in Brazil

Full time, 4 years

You will be responsible in examining how political elites have repositioned Brazil as a mining giant through a combination of a resource-oriented industrial strategy, investment policy, and regional development plans. While the Brazilian state has played a central role in transforming its energy and mineral resources through resource nationalism, there is enormous potential for rare earths to become a tool for technological innovation particularly in building linkages between mining and higher-value manufacturing, renewable energy, and national defence. Rare earth mining has end-user applications as a catalyst for petroleum refining which is likely to play a wider role in the context of the country’s discovery of the biggest offshore oil reserves in 2007.

While the project generally uses a qualitative approach combining semi-structured interviews with key informants, policy and media analysis, archival research, and site-intensive methods (SIM), there is sufficient leeway for the prospective candidate to pursue new methodological approaches in seeking originality of work. The PhD candidate is expected to spend between 12-16 months of fieldwork in mining regions (Amazon and Minas Gerais) for the qualitative part of the project, exploring various political economy questions that shape Brazil’s rare earths sector and broader industrial strategy, and placing the case study in global, national, and regional/sub-national contexts. However, the prospective candidate may propose different pathways for his/her own research, for example, by exploring potential comparative analysis within and between Brazil and other regions/cases, creating new research designs for the PhD involving mixed methods approaches, or to undertake value chain analysis of specific rare earth elements and end user manufacturing/high technology sectors.

Note that a good candidate for these positions must come from or have a strong association with the selected country.

PhD 2: Supply chain consolidation through joint ventures with MNEs in Kazakhstan

Full time, 4 years

You will carry out research on how Kazakhstan through its history of state-building, industrial policy and technical expertise on mining has implemented a series of economic reforms aimed at attracting investment to bring new technology and foreign expertise into the mining sector. Kazakhstan is the second richest in terms of proven uranium reserves and is the biggest producer with about 39% control of world supply. From the 1990s onwards, political elites have generally relied on privatization in developing mineral and oil reserves. Foreign control is well-documented in oil production as part of a broader package to transition towards full-fledged capitalism. With its rich reserves of heavy rare earth metals mined together with uranium, international investors from France, Germany and Japan have pursued joint ventures with Kazatoprom to reduce the long-term risks associated with a supply market dominated by Chinese enterprises.

The project will explore the extent to which foreign investment-based development strategies are compatible with its geopolitical interests and domestic economic priorities. The PhD researcher will examine the changing strategy of the domestic elites in their efforts to place rare earths mining as a complementary sector to its vast and highly developed energy industry, examining the role of industrial, trade and investment policies as well as the broader relationship of Kazakhstan with European, Russian and Chinese firms. While the project generally uses a qualitative approach combining semi-structured interviews with key informants, policy and media analysis, archival research, and site-intensive methods (SIM), there is sufficient leeway for the prospective candidate to pursue new methodological approaches in seeking originality of work. The PhD candidate is expected to spend between 12-16 months of fieldwork in mining regions including in Chu-Sarysu basin for the qualitative part of the project, exploring various political economy questions that shape Kazakhstan’s rare earths sector and broader industrial strategy, and placing the case study in global, national, and regional/sub-national contexts. However, the prospective candidate may propose new ways to develop his/her expertise, for instance, by seeking comparative analysis within and between Kazakhstan and wider Central Asia (or other middle income countries), by examining Kazakhstan in the wider context of the New Silk Campaign, and/or undertaking value chains analysis of specific rare earth elements and end user manufacturing/high technology sectors.