The Department offers the opportunity for focused study in five areas, along with a number of specialties that cut across traditional fields.
American Politics
American politics is concerned with the study of political institutions and political behavior in the United States. Within this broad rubric, the areas of strength at Penn State include the policy making activities of organized interests; Congress; the institutional arenas of state courts and state legislatures; political participation and electoral behavior; and the development and dynamics of political agendas. Large, collaborative research projects characterize the American politics field, providing numerous opportunities for graduate student training and collaboration.
Comparative Politics
Comparative politics concerns the cross-national study of political institutions and behavior, including such questions as the relationship between the state and society, the development of democracy and dictatorship, and the origins and ramifications of domestic political conflict. At Penn State our training focuses on theoretical and methodological issues in the areas of the processes of democratization and development, elite and mass political behavior, political parties and social movements. Our regional specialties include Europe (both East and West), Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The faculty combine qualitative and quantitative methods in their research and training of graduate students.
International Relations
International relations at Penn State emphasizes the study of the causes and consequences of international conflict, the development of international cooperation, conflict resolution, bargaining, and international political economy (including specialties in international development and world trade). The subfield includes the Program on Empirical International Relations, a formal program that emphasizes training in scientific research methods applied to international relations.
Political Theory
Political theory focuses on continental and Anglo-American thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with particular emphasis on critical theory, democratic theory, and feminist theory. Students also study with renowned faculty in the Graduate Program in Social Thought drawing on its interdisciplinary resources to rethink the conceptual frameworks that inform contemporary politics.
Political Methodology
Political methodology at Penn State has built its strength in the quantitative analysis of politics while remaining attentive to the use of formal modeling and rigorous qualitative methods. An unusual number of our faculty combine qualitative techniques with quantitative methods in their research while many others integrate formal modeling with empirical analysis. Faculty specialties include event history analysis, time-series analysis, panel data analysis, simulations, elite interviewing, archival analysis, discourse analysis, the qualitative comparative method, formal modeling, game theory, and survey research. The new Social Science Statistics Partnership provides for cross-departmental training in statistical methods.
Cross-Cutting and Interdisciplinary Areas of Study
Democratization
Penn State has a core group of faculty interested in the evolution of civic organizations and democratic institutions. Specific interests include the evolution of political parties, social movements and organizations, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, coalition formation and negotiation, and the consolidation of democratic regimes. Research has focused on diverse regions including the former East Germany, Russia, Latin America, South Asia, and the Philippines.
Gender and Politics
Gender research at Penn State has focused on how gender affects political participation, partisan alignments, and political thought. Specialties include women's movements, the gender gap, women candidates, reproductive rights, feminist theory, attitudes towards feminism, and the effect of gender on public policy.
Peace Science
Penn State is the home of the Peace Science Society (International) or PSS(I), scientific association of individuals developing theory and methods for the study of peace. PSS(I) does not confine itself to ideas specific to peace research, but welcomes and utilized relevant work of the social and natural sciences. A primary concern of the Society is the improvement of social science theory as it relates to international relations. PSS(I) facilitates acquaintance and provides a vehicle for discussion among its members and others worldwide. It encourages and supports the publication of research, particularly but not exclusively quantitative research.
Political Behavior and Political Culture
At Penn State, faculty and graduate students conduct research that cuts across the traditional fields of public opinion, electoral behavior, political participation and political culture. Topics of study include: the evolution of civil society; interest groups; social movements and revolution; identity politics; the dynamics of public opinion; comparative public opinion; links between public opinion and public policy; minority political activity; and voter turnout.