‘Cold War Socialism, Non-Alignment and Anti-Colonialism in the Yugoslav Press, 1961 - 1979’: AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) PhD Studentship Ref: 5853

Supervisors

Dr Ljubica Spaskovska University of Exeter - Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Milan Grba, the British Library

The University of Exeter and the British Library are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship from 1 October 2026 under the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.

The project Cold War Socialism, Non-Alignment and Anti-Colonialism in the Yugoslav Press, 1961-1979 proposes an innovative investigation into Yugoslavia's multifaceted role during the Cold War, specifically its involvement with the Non-Aligned Movement and anti-colonial efforts.

This project will be jointly supervised Dr Ljubica Spaskovska and Professor James Mark at the University of Exeter and by Milan Grba and Savka Andic at the British Library.  The student will spend time with both the University of Exeter and the British Library and will become part of the wider cohort of AHRC CDP funded PhD students across the UK.

The University of Exeter and the British Library are keen to encourage applications from a diverse range of people, from different backgrounds and career stages, and particularly welcome applications from Global Majority students and those currently underrepresented in doctoral student cohorts.  

The Research Project

The project centres on Yugoslavia’s global role in the Cold War, emphasizing its advocacy of non-alignment, anti-colonialism, and support for newly independent nations and liberation movements. The project will draw upon the recently digitised and largely unexamined Joint Translation Service (JTS) bulletins, a sole archive housed at the British Library. The project's core purpose is to apply advanced digital methods and interdisciplinary research to the Joint Translation Service Archive, uncovering fresh insights into Cold War socialism and anti-colonialism from a Yugoslav perspective, and aiming to understand how Yugoslavia, a founding Non-Aligned Movement member, forged a 'third way'. The student will be engaged in creating a fully digitally searchable Joint Translation Service resource, deriving new datasets, and helping to establish a global network of Non-Aligned Movement-related archives with a view to creating a digital repository. The successful applicant would be able to build upon this and develop their own specific approach and themes. In addition to the focus on the JTS archive, applicants could potentially bring this material into dialogue with other archives and primary materials.

Research questions include:

·         How did socialist Yugoslavia position itself as the principal European member of the Non-Aligned Movement?

·         How did the press portray the nation's activities as a supporter of global anti-colonialism?

·         How did this discourse relate to Yugoslavia’s identity as a socialist, multi-ethnic, multi-confessional, modernized, and industrialized state with a history of anti-imperial liberation struggles?

·         How did Yugoslav cultural production diplomacy foster transnational solidarity? How did that impact on Yugoslavia’s internal identity and evolution?

Benefits and Opportunities

The successful candidate will be registered with the Department of Archaeology and History at the University of Exeter. History at Exeter has a global reputation for excellence and we are proud to be one of the leading research centres for History in the UK, with a diverse academic faculty of over 70 staff. Our research centres include Medical History; Medieval Studies; Early Modern Studies; War, State and Society; Imperial and Global History; Maritime Historical Studies. They are a focus for interdisciplinary activity across the institution and beyond. The Doctoral College at the University of Exeter is dedicated to supporting post-graduate research students (PGRs) with their research, training and academic progress throughout their degrees. It is a world-class research hub that brings together institution-wide support, training, and administration for all our PGRs.  

At the British Library, the student will become part of a vibrant cohort of collaborative doctoral researchers and benefit from staff-level access to the Library’s collections, resources and in-house training and development opportunities. CDP students also benefit from a dedicated programme of CDP Consortium events delivered in tandem with the other museums, galleries and heritage organisations affiliated with the AHRC CDP scheme, designed to provide CDP researchers with the knowledge, networks and skills to thrive in their future careers.

This collaborative PhD studentship offers the opportunity to combine academic training with practice-based experience and research behind the scenes of a major cultural institution. This is a unique opportunity to gain a wide range of transferable research skills, which may include working with primary sources, analysing large historic collections, creating datasets, writing blog posts, producing collections guides, publishing research outputs.

Details of Award

The PhD studentship can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis.

AHRC CDP doctoral training grants fund studentships for 4 years full-time or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of 8 years.[MA1] [LS2] [MH3]  AHRC CDP doctoral trainings grants also make provision of funding for student development activities to help the student extend their wider skills portfolio and improve their career prospects.

The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home UKRI rate for PhD degrees. The indicative fee level for Research Council studentships for 2026/27 is £5,238.

The award also pays full maintenance for all students, both home and international students. This stipend is tax free, increases slightly each year, and is the equivalent of an annual salary, enabling the student to pay living costs. The indicative UKRI Minimum Doctoral Stipend for 2026/27 is £21,805. An additional London allowance of £1000/year will be applied for this studentship.

In addition, the successful candidate will receive a CDP maintenance payment of £600/year to support any additional costs incurred whilst undertaking a collaborative award.

Further details on UKRI funding for doctoral training can be found on the UKRI website.

In addition, the successful student will be eligible for an additional research allowance courtesy of the British Library, up to £1,000 per financial year or part-time equivalent, for the duration of the project.

If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) on top of your studentship. DSA helps to cover the cost of any additional support that a person studying for a doctorate might need as a result of a disability, mental health problem or specific learning difficulty. You can read more about DSA: https://www.ukri.org/publications/disabled-students-allowance-dsa-framework/

Eligibility

This studentship is open to both Home and International applicants. The University of Exeter will cover the difference between the home and international fee if an international applicant is successful.

To be classed as a Home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:

·         Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or

·         Have settled status, or

·         Have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or

·         Have indefinite leave to remain in or enter.

Further guidance can be found here based on revisions to Training Grant Terms and Conditions for projects starting in October 2025.

For International applicants, please note that this studentship does not include funding for travel to the UK to take up this studentship nor does it cover visa and health surcharge costs. Successful applicants must be prepared to cover these costs themselves.

Entry requirements

Applicants should have or expect to receive a Masters-level qualification, with at least a merit result (or non-UK equivalent) in a relevant discipline or be able to demonstrate equivalent research experience in a professional setting.[MA1] [LS2] [MH3]  Relevant disciplines include, but are not limited to, History, Politics, Sociology, Anthropology. A knowledge of Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian or Slovene, or a commitment to learn one, is desirable.

Equivalent experience might include, but is not restricted to, a strong track record of employment in a library, museum, or heritage institution, that includes responsibility for relevant archival research, collections curation, and/or public engagement activity.

Collaborative doctoral students are expected to spend time at both the University of Exeter and the British Library.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate an interest in the museums, galleries, archives and library sector and potential and enthusiasm for developing skills more widely in related areas.

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency. Click here for more information.

Please note that these studentships are only open to applicants who will start their study in September 2026, not those who have already started.

Applicants must satisfy the standard UKRI eligibility criteria. For further information please see: 

https://www.ukri.org/funding/information-for-award-holders/grant-terms-and-conditions/

How to apply

Apply now

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button above. You will be asked to submit the following by 12:00 (Noon) BST Tuesday 5 May 2026:  

·         A covering letter (up to 4 sides, A4, font size 12) outlining your academic interests, prior research experience, reasons for wishing to undertake this project and areas of individual interest you might like to pursue

·         A full CV

·         Proof of academic track record (transcripts/certificates)

·         Details of two academic referees

·         Proof of your English language proficiency, if relevant

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

Please quote reference 5853 on your application and in any correspondence about this studentship.

Reference information
It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees email their references to PGRApplicants@exeter.ac.uk, as we will not make requests for references directly; you must arrange for them to be submitted by 5 May 2026.  Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.

References should be in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview, expected to take place on 27 May 2026.

We ask all applicants to complete a voluntary EDI monitoring form here. All responses are anonymous.

Summary