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  • Department of Political Science

    The Department of Political Science is devoted to the study of politics and government, domestically and abroad. This includes the study of political institutions that exercise government authority, including legislatures, courts, and administrative agencies; political organizations through which individuals and groups seek to reshape the political landscape, including parties, interest groups, and social movements; public policies that reflect governmental efforts to regulate the actions of individuals and corporations, including civil rights, immigration, and environmental policy; and the interactions between and among nation-states and transnational organizations that shape patterns of trade and development, conflict and cooperation, war and peace.

    At the undergraduate level, political science majors will be exposed to political inquiry across a broad array of substantive topics, while also concentrating in one of the following areas: American Politics & History, Law & Politics, Political Economy, Political Participation & Mobilization, Global Governance & Foreign Policy, Political Violence & Conflict, Public Policy, Parties & Elections, Comparative Politics, Citizenship & Democracy, or Political Thought & Philosophy.

    At the graduate level, doctoral students receive broad training in quantitative and qualitative methods of social science research, while also concentrating in two of the following substantive fields: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, Public Administration & Policy, Law & Courts, or Security Studies.

  • Commitment to Inclusion

    The Maxwell School stands in support of all who are demanding change in the face of racism, violence, and hate speech. We are committed to making our school, our university, and our communities more inclusive and just for all.

    There is absolutely no place for behavior or language that degrades any individual or group’s race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, disability, or religious beliefs.

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    • COVID-19: We continue to follow the advice of local public health officials in regards to in-person events. Please check this calendar for the latest safety protocols before coming to campus or other in-person venue.

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  • Political Science News

    Three faculty members named O’Hanley Scholars

    The Maxwell School is pleased to announce three new O’Hanley Faculty Scholars: Saba Siddiki, associate professor of public administration and international affairs; Martin Shanguhyia, associate professor of history; and Chris Faricy, associate professor of political science. Each was selected for outstanding teaching, scholarship and other accomplishments, including success with external grant support and service to the institution. The O’Hanley Faculty Endowed Fund for Faculty Excellence was created with a major gift from Ron O’Hanley, a 1980 graduate of the Maxwell School with a B.A. in political science.

     

    Gadarian speaks to FiveThirtyEight about partisanship, COVID

    Polls and vaccination rates have shown Republicans are less likely to be vaccinated, and more likely to say they don’t plan to get the shot than Democrats. Based on research she and her colleagues have been conducting, Shana Gadarian says there has been a partisan split on all health behaviors (not only the vaccine but also mask wearing, hand washing, visiting one’s doctor) throughout the pandemic. "Partisanship is not the sole determinant, but it is the strongest, most consistent determinant, even controlling for age, education, where people are living, how many COVID-19 cases are in the area," says Gadarian. Read more in the FiveThirtyEight article, "Republicans Aren’t New To The Anti-Vaxx Movement."

     

    Reeher quoted in Eagle Tribune article on 9/11 attacks

    There's little doubt that the U.S. and the world was forever changed on September 11, 2001. At the time of the terror attacks, recalls Professor Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, "There was great hope and expectation it would have a profound impact on our civil life and lead to a recapturing of some of what we lost in the decades leading up to it, that it would be a wake-up call for people to become more engaged." But, he says, "We fell very short of attaining the civic hopes that moment generated." Read more in the Eagle Tribune article, "In 20 years since 9/11 attacks, nation remains forever changed."

     

Department of Political Science
100 Eggers Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244-1020
Phone: +1.315.443.2416