Politics and Social Policy

Political science studies institutions of power, the role of interest groups and individuals, the nature of policy preferences, the study of the democratic process and the institutions that support it, and the relationship between inequality and political participation. The department is home to over fifty faculty members who work in the fields of American politics, comparative politics, political economy, formal and quantitative methods, international relations, political theory and public law.

Of particular interest to JDP-Politics students are the ongoing research programs of the faculty in American politics, the comparative scholars who focus on the social welfare states of Western Europe, and political scientists interested in questions of state development, conflict, human rights, and civil society in Africa, Asia, South Asia, Japan, and Latin America.

The Center for the Study of Democratic Politics serves as a hub for American politics and boasts a powerful groups of scholars who work on empirical studies of the political processes and institutions including the study of policy preferences, differential rates of political participation, voting behavior, the legislative process, political communication, urban politics and the role of race in American political life.

Comparative politics encompasses the study of the welfare state, most especially the political economy of the OECD countries, the regulation of labor markets, the relationship between wage inequality, income distribution and policy preferences for redistribution and social protection. The advent of the European Union has catalyzed new research agendas that focus on questions of political integration and policy harmonization in a context of divergent economies and levels of inequality within and between states. The consequences of extreme inequality for political stability and participation are of particular interest to students working in developing countries.

JDP-Politics students can participate in the many stimulating research centers on campus, including the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics, the Bobst Center for International Peace and Justice, the Niehaus Center for Global Governance, the University Center for Human Values, and the Law and Public Affairs Program.