Postdoctoral Researcher in Law & Complexity

Tilburg University | Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance is looking for a

Postdoctoral Researcher in Law & Complexity

Department: Public Law and Governance

Contract size: 0.8 - 1.0 FTE (32-40 hours per week)

Desired starting date: 01-06-2026 (or as agreed)

The Department of Public Law and Governance is seeking a post-doctoral candidate to contribute to a project that aims to curate a critical mass of methodological insights into the application of complexity theory to legal research (in any sub-field) that will serve as a resource for other scholars to benefit from in the future. In so doing, the researcher will be building a multi-faceted toolkit for legal scholars interested in applying complexity theory in their research and thereby contributing to an innovative but poorly understood and under-researched line of inquiry in the study of law and legal phenomena.

This post-doctoral position contributes to a research project that seeks to further the methodological knowledge base for the application of ‘complexity’ or ‘complex systems’ theory to the study of law and legal phenomena. Since the 1990s, the field of complexity and complex systems theory has seen some tentative application to the study of law as a way to better capture the dynamic, adaptive, and interconnected nature of legal and social systems. In contrast to doctrinal legal analysis that often assumes linear causation and hierarchical orders of norms, complexity descriptions of law, inspired by the study of other complex systems like ecosystems or economies, instead focus their attentions on how law and legal phenomena behave as adaptive networks whose operations emerge out of the manifold interactions of multiple actors, institutions, and norms in non-linear ways and produce feedback mechanisms that may inspire future legal changes in ongoing and cyclical process of co-evolution, but that also make them not easily predicted or controlled. This has led some scholars to conceptualize law as a self-organizing system, where social ordering emerges out of the combination of top-down design and bottom-up practices and social norms in a context of uncertainty about the future. Doing this allows one to provide explanations to questions like why legal orders look the ways they do in practice, or why law changes or produces changes, or not, in which ways and under what conditions, that normative descriptions of law struggle to explain. If harnessed properly complexity theory’s attention to law as an evolving dynamic order whose changes are a result of the adaptive behaviours of multitudes can completely change analytical discussions about why legal orders look the ways they do in practice, or why and how law changes or produces changes, or not, and when, and in which ways, and under what conditions. However, the methodological foundations for how one could or should study law through a complexity lens are far from settled, and this creates an opportunity space for a postdoctoral researcher to achieve a real contribution to legal research in this area.

The primary task of the postdoctoral researcher will be to work in a small network of scholars at Tilburg University and at the University of Eastern Finland to curate a blogsite that will gather contributions about methodological features of complexity research relevant to law from scholars engaged in legal complexity research around the world. The website has already been created but is currently in a nascent state and requires that substantially more contributions be solicited and gathered over time to populate it. The hope and expectation of this postdoctoral position is that through careful outreach and curation, this blogsite will become a uniquely valuable knowledge resource, in particular for legal scholars who are interested in complexity theory but who have little to no idea of how to think about it or how to construct research projects around it. The postdoctoral researcher will be expected to contribute some blog entries of their own for website, however, much of their work will involve identifying and reaching out to other legal scholars around the world who have done or are doing law and complexity research and soliciting contributions from them of entries on selected themes. While building a critical mass of contributions, the postdoctoral research will also work to foster dialogue, debate, and discussion on the platform about the contents of the contributions.

The secondary task of the postdoctoral researcher will be to work closely with Dr. Leach on collaborative writing projects and grant applications for future research on the basis of the knowledge base curated by the blogsite. A major pragmatic goal of the website is to develop a wide-ranging methodological foundation for complexity research in law that will allow for concrete applications in a wide range of fields, not only those limited to the areas of interest of Dr. Leach and the other collaborators on the project. On top of this, the researcher will be free to develop their own writing projects for publication, as well as attend and present at conferences and other forums to promote the website and to spread awareness of its contents to other law & complexity scholars.

In sum, the position will require a candidate to work autonomously, and to wear several hats at the same time, as: an academic editor and writer, a complex systems and law researcher, an academic networker, and a (virtual) community-builder. This position will involve significant work and writing on methodological themes and issues related to law and complexity, therefore suitable candidates should have some foundational knowledge of complex systems theory as well as some background in socio-legal research in one area of another, and they should have research and publication histories that demonstrate this. Candidates should also have demonstrable experience in working in academic research teams and in community-building. The position will offer the candidate considerable opportunities for networking, but while the core network members will assist her or him to reach out to prospective blog contributors, much of the outreach will be done by the candidate him or herself. As such, the ideal candidate for this position will be self-motivated, well-organized, and creative in their approach to research and problem-solving.

The position will be based in the Department of Public Law and Governance (PLG) at Tilburg Law School. PLG is a large and dynamic mix of academics working in areas of both domestic and international law. While the selected candidate will not need to reside in Tilburg, they will be expected to be present in the office at least 2-3 days a week (when they are not travelling). The candidate will also work within a small international network of researchers based at Tilburg and the University of Eastern Finland. While most of this core network are public lawyers interested in environmental law and the Anthropocene, candidates do not necessarily need to have expertise in these areas for this position.

We consider the following qualifications important for the position.

• You have completed a PhD in law (or a related discipline). Approval of your PhD manuscript by your supervisors at the time of applying will be considered sufficient. (This is a strict requirement.)
• You have a demonstrable interest in and some experience writing on issues related to complexity theory and legal research. Your PhD thesis and/or publication history must demonstrate this interest.
• You have experience or affinity with working in a multidisciplinary environment and in virtual academic networks.
• You feel comfortable working in a team and can express this through the ways that you collaborate and share knowledge and experiences.
• You are willing and able to contribute to an open and inclusive work environment.
• You have the ability to conduct research and work independently at the postdoctoral level.
• You have an excellent written and spoken command of English (at a C1 level), as demonstrated by your publications and conference presentations in English. Capacity in other languages is also valued (in order to canvas complexity writing in other languages). It is an advantage if you have a good command of the Dutch language, but it is not a strict requirement.

Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment:

• A position based on 0,8-1,0 FTE (32-40 hours per week).
• A salary of minimum €4,728 and maximum €6,433 gross per month for full-time employment, based on UFO profile Researcher 3 and salary scale 11. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system based on relevant work experience.
• This is a vacancy whose work is temporarily funded on the basis of temporary external funding or co-financing, in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 5 sub a CLA DU, namely NWO XS Grant on AI Decision-Making in International Law and Dutch Government-funded Starter Grant on ‘Complexifying Law’. You will be given a temporary contract for the duration of 18 months in a single contract.
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• Over 8 weeks of vacation leave.
• The opportunity to work partly on campus and partly from home with a home office allowance of €2 per day.
• Reimbursement for sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transport.
• A monthly internet allowance of €25.
• An options model in which you exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center.
• A moving allowance (subject to conditions).
• Employees from abroad may be eligible for a tax-free allowance for extraterritorial expenses equal to 30% of taxable salary.
• A pension with ABP; the largest Dutch pension fund.
• Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research. Or a language course at our Language Center.
• A work culture in which we embrace differences, everyone is welcome and given equal opportunities.
• A vibrant campus in green surroundings that is easily accessible by public transport.

Would you like to know more before applying? Feel free to contact Dr Michael C Leach at m.c.leach@tilburguniversity.edu.

We kindly invite you to apply before 07-04-2026; this can only be done online. Address your cover letter to Dr Michael C. Leach and attach your resume. In order to make a good selection, we also ask you to provide the following documents:

• Copy/proof of PhD degree
• Publication list with top/best publication indicated
• Contact details of at least two referees
• We only approach referees for candidates invited to the second round of interviews

Selection of short-listed applications is scheduled on 09-04-2026 and applicants will receive notification of the results shortly thereafter. The first selection interviews will take place during the week of 13-04-2026 till 17-04-2026 and the second (if necessary) during the week of 20-04-2026 till 24-04-2026.

The selection committee consists of

• Dr. Niko Soininen, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Eastern Finland,
• Dr. Philip Paiement, Professor of Law & Governance in the Anthropocene, Tilburg Law School.
• Dr Michael C Leach, Assistant Professor, Tilburg Law School (Project Coordinator)

You will ideally start working for Tilburg University on 01-06-2026 (though an earlier start is possible if desired).

This vacancy has been published simultaneously internally and externally. In case of equal suitability, our preference is for an internal candidate.

Tilburg Law School

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