Towards a European political science? Opportunities and pitfalls in the internationalisation of political science in Europe

Abstract

Political science has not remained on the side of the internationalisation road. While continental European political science was criticised for not being internationalised enough in the beginning of this century, much progress has been done since then. This symposium discusses the state of play of the internationalisation trend(s) in European political science. Building on the data collected within the COST programme PROSEPS, the contributions show that we have made progress toward building a scholarly community across Europe. European political research has, on a number aspects, become a more collective endeavour deployed across Europe. Opportunities for cumulative knowledge-building and intellectual exchange are, partially at least, supported by internationalisation. These opportunities have significantly increased over the last two decades. We are, nevertheless, not there yet. The articles shed light on a number of challenges and pitfalls on the path towards a truly Europe-wide political science.

Hard Work and You Can’t Get It: An International Comparative Analysis of Gender, Career Aspirations, and Preparedness Among Politics and International Relations PhD Students

“…It is a persistent phenomenon that spans disciplines and national systems. At the same time, with the increasing "internationalization" of the academy-and political science in particular (Engeli, Kostova, and Tronconi 2022)-we need to understand the impact that different institutional arrangements can have on the development of our profession. Our research, the first international comparative survey of political science PhD students, 1 addresses students' experiences of the "mismatch" and also offers insights into the different institutional settings that serve as their backdrop.…”