Utrecht University seeks to appoint 3 PhD candidates who will investigate the role of religious vigilante organizations. All three PhDs will be part of the ERC Consolidator project: Sacralizing Security: Religion, Violence and Authority in Mega-Cities of the Global South (SACRASEC). In mega-cities of the Global South, state agencies often lack the capacity to provide infrastructure and security to all citizens. In such contexts, religious organizations and non-state security actors (vigilantes) have merged into alternative governance organizations.