The European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project TREATYLAB – “The Labyrinth of Treaties: International Law Behind the Scenes of Early Enlightenment Diplomacy, 1712–1763” at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is currently recruiting three fully funded full-time PhD researchers in the fields of legal history, diplomatic history, and early modern international law.
Hosted at the Faculty of Law and Criminology (Department Metajuridica), the project investigates the intellectual and practical foundations of eighteenth-century diplomacy through a substantial corpus of handwritten memoranda preserved at the Archives diplomatiques of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in La Courneuve (France).
Each doctoral position combines:
• archival and doctrinal research
• participation in a large-scale digitisation project
• preparation of a doctoral dissertation (monograph)
• publication in peer-reviewed journals
• active collaboration within an international ERC research team
The research team consists of the Principal Investigator, a postdoctoral researcher, and three PhD researchers.
Available PhD projects:
(1) PhD1 – “They Called it Peace? The Use of Force and the Cycle of Truces, 1712–1763”
Focus: ius ad bellum, use of force, diplomatic legal argumentation.
PhD1 vacancy announcement
(2) PhD2 – “The Latin and Atlantic Bond? Bourbon Law of Nations in Europe and America, 1712–1763”
Focus: Franco-Spanish relations, Bourbon diplomacy, law of nations, empire and trade.
PhD2 vacancy announcement
(3) PhD3 – “Doctrine and Practice: Early Enlightenment Doctrine and Practical Legal Writing, 1712–1763”
Focus: the role of legal doctrine (Roman law, law of nations, public law, private law, etc.) in diplomatic practice.
PhD3 vacancy announcement
Eligibility:
Applicants should hold a Master’s degree in Law or History.
Conditions and benefits include:
• full-time doctoral scholarship (initial 12 months, extendable up to 48 months upon positive evaluation)
• expected starting date: 1 October 2026
• extensive home-working possibilities
• generous leave arrangements
• reimbursement of public transport commuting costs
• research training opportunities and an international academic environment
Application deadline: 8 July 2026
Applications should be submitted via the VUB academic vacancies website and must include:
• CV
• motivation letter
• diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni)
The selection procedure consists of: (1) an initial selection based on the application file; and (2) job interview
Further information on the project is available at: TREATYLAB project website & VUB academic vacancies website
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