Department of Political Science

The Department of Political Studies was set up in 1990. It aims to teach politics on Bachelor level, with a subsequent Master as well as a PhD program. The department also organizes rigorous exams. The Political Science - International Relations Bachelor program operates on the basis of cooperation between the Department of Political Studies and the Department of International Relations.

The department focuses on general political science, comparative politics and political geography. Research activities of the department members focus on decentralization processes, local and regional politics, electoral studies, embracing democracy, language politics and migration.

The department is accredited for habilitation and professorial procedure within the discipline of Political Science. Thus the department has become the third political science center in the Czech Republic and the first one within Charles University to provide education in political science starting with the basic university level right up to the highest scholarly academic degree. The department currently ranks among the leading Czech political studies centers.

Further evidence of scholarly activities of the department members is reflected in the fact that most of them not only teach but also significantly contribute to the development in the field, f.ex. by leading funded projects within GA ČR (formerly also GA UK). More and more full-time PhD students of political science as well as Master students are involved in this research. Members of the Department of Political Studies also take part in many international projects, e.g. the 6th general program (CLIOHRES. Network of Excellence, CLIOH-WORLD, www.cliohworld.net). Since 2004 the department has been offering PhD students and the most competent Master students to contribute to research activities within the scope of specific research funded by the Faculty. The outcomes of professionally training future graduates are theme monographs which have been published since 2006 (see section “Science and Research”, subsection “Publications” of this website).

The department members continuously participate in publishing study materials from the field of Comparative Political Science in cooperation with other Political science centers (VŠE), they cooperate with the Karolinum and SLON publishing houses and continuously publish the results of their academic work in scholarly magazines in the Czech Republic (Politologická revue, Politologický časopis, Sociologický časopis) and abroad. In addition, they also work as members of editorial boards at both Czech and international scholarly magazines plus cooperate with the media as analysts.

The Department of Political Studies publishes two scholarly magazines: Acta Politologica and Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics

The department members have participated in research projects organized by the FSV for several years, the latest cooperation is based on the project of Research Purpose Statement number MSM0021620841 Development of the Czech Society in the EU: Challenges and Risks.