The Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)” is a research consortium that analyses the contemporary controversies about liberal democracy and the market economy. The term “liberal script” relates to a set of ideas and institutional prescriptions about how society is organised based on the core principle of individual self-determination. The main purpose of SCRIPTS is to understand why the liberal model of order has fallen into crisis despite its political, economic, and social achievements.
SCRIPTS has been operating since 2019 and is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) until the end of 2025. The Cluster is hosted by the Freie Universität Berlin and unites eight major Berlin-based research institutes. Cluster research teams are made up of doctoral researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and professors from social, political, and area studies. SCRIPTS is well connected with research institutes and knowledge exchange partners throughout the world, including political and cultural organisations, as well as civil society actors. In addition, SCRIPTS brings renowned visiting scholars from all over the world to Berlin.
The Cluster’s research programme is structured around four Research Units (RUs): Borders, Orders, (Re-)Allocation and Temporality. The RU Orders investigates contestations of the liberal script with regard to state and civil society structures and discourses, rights, and political procedures. In cooperation with the members of the Research Unit, the postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the synthesis of research results of the unit and coordinate the process of streamlining scientific insights by research projects. Furthermore, the researcher will develop their own research in the interdisciplinary context of the unit and contribute to the further development of the unit’s research agenda.
The selection is done according to the SCRIPTS Diversity Rules & Guidelines:
https://www.scripts-berlin.eu/about-us/Diversity/SCRIPTS_-Diversity_-Rules-_-Guidelines1/index.html.