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Department of Political Science

The department periodically hosts Friday afternoon socials, where student and faculty discuss timely issues of politics and governance. Photo: Caleb Eckert '17.

Students in the “Education Reform in America: Politics and Policy” class took a field trip to Lower Merion High School. See what other classes the department offers. Photo: Holden Blanco '17.
The Political Science Department offers a program of study that provides students with an opportunity to explore politics and government from multiple vantage points—at the grassroots, the nation-state, and the global community—and from a variety of theoretical, conceptual, comparative, historical, and experiential perspectives.

By Chris Conrad ’21 Originally, I wanted to title this essay “Don’t go to grad school,” but I suspect in many ways, I’m writing too late – the class of 2021 has already been accepted to grad school by now, and likely committed to going. Plus, I’m under no illusions

Check out this fascinating article written about Talia Scott '19 (B.A. in Political Science), who founded the Legally BLK Fund, an organization that assists Black female current and apsiring lawyers with the high costs associated with applying to and attending law school. For more information, email talia@legallyblkfund.org or follow the fund's Instagram account.

Ahram discusses the role of the state in Yemen and across North Africa, and highlights the contrast between the weak rule of the state and the local power of non-state actors. Towards the end of the piece, he highlights the contradiction of public devotion to a state-based identity and their
The Political Science Department requests feedback on a wide-range of issues concerning the department. Please feel free to comment on any subject related to your experience with the Department, its faculty and its students. Among the subjects students may wish to address: classroom climate, the department’s curriculum, thesis process and concerns, intra-departmental dynamics, extra-curricular activities, social activities, departmental requirements, and professional opportunities. Naturally, this list is partial. You may use this form to discuss other issues as well.

Jacob Gorenburg ’22; Image by War on the Rocks On September 27th the first shells struck Stepanakert, the de-facto capital of the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, ostensibly in response to Armenian provocations at the border. What followed was a bloody conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over control of this contentious

By Moselle Burke ’21; Image by Herr Loeffler In January 2020, the Trump administration released a memo announcing its revisions to the United States Munitions List (USML). The memo stated that certain items in categories I-III of the 21-category list were being removed from it, effectively moving their export from

By Jackson Trevor ’22; Image by Wikimedia Commons A special report conducted by Reuters in November painted a damning picture of how carelessly deployed sanctions can negatively impact U.S. strategic interests. The report, authored by Marianna Parraga, Rinat Sagdiev, and Parisa Hafezi, chronicles how Venezuela’s state-run oil exports industry, hit

By Rachel Bamberger ’22; Image by The New York Times- Tigrayan refugees waiting for UN Relief Described as “a grisly wellspring of looting, ethnic antagonism and killings” by The New York Times, the conflict that began in the northern region of Ethiopia known as Tigray in early November has resulted

By Sindi Kaskaviqi ’21; Image by Leah Millis/Reuters Image: President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti on September 2020 In late September Trump bragged on Twitter that he saved thousands of lives in Kosovo, saying that this was one

By Golda Glasser ’22; Image of a protest at UC Berkeley regarding the use of free speech on campus Freedom of speech is tied, deeply, emotionally to the American psyche. Enshrined in the founding documents, a right that is essential to democratic practice. We know this right is not absolute.