Welcome to the Department of Political Science

 

Political Science is the study of power, authority and governance in human affairs. Political scientists examine the social, economic, cultural, historical, geographical and other forces that generate conflicts both within and among societies. We analyze the institutional and ideological forms through which such conflicts achieve resolution.

From the deployment of military weapons and the flows of global finance to the most intimate practices of daily life, power and claims to legitimate authority are an inescapable part of human existence.

Political scientists have developed a wide range of theoretical perspectives and techniques to try to understand these processes. We are interested in the workings of large structures like the modern state and the international system, and in the more obvious struggles for power among political parties and politicians. We are also interested in the detailed practices of social movements or the mass media, and the less obvious forms of power expressed in claims about knowledge, culture or gender.

We study constitutions, parliaments, parties, electoral systems, and the formation of public policies, in Canada and elsewhere. We examine historically influential doctrines like liberalism, Marxism, and nationalism, and emerging commitments to environmentalism, feminism, international human rights, and local democracy.

Some techniques focus on detailed knowledge of specific jurisdictions, while others stress the need to compare across societies or to look at the broad global forces that constrain local initiatives. We research theoretical principles that go back to philosophers like Aristotle, Hobbes or Rousseau, and we work with contemporary theories and methods drawn from across the social sciences and humanities.

In today's world, forms of power, authority and governance are changing rapidly and require not only understanding but also informed intervention to reduce the levels of violence and injustice that are so prevalent.

The Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria offers a range of courses at undergraduate and graduate levels on all of these subjects. The faculty and staff of the Department are committed to providing students with a world-class learning experience in a supportive and inclusive environment.

 

The September 2011 issue of the Political Science Department newsletter is now available

You can find the September issue of the Political Science Department newsletter here: Where Politics Are Happening