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Doctoral Programme

The core mission of the EUI Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) is the recruitment, training, and placement of early career researchers from throughout Europe.

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People

Our Faculty, Doctoral Researchers and Postdocs come from a broad range of countries spanning all Europe and beyond.

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Research

We focus on the interplay of institutional dynamics with their behavioural context.

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Seminars & Teaching

We are one of Europe’s leading centres for research on comparative politics, political behaviour and political sociology, the sociology of inequality, analytic sociology, and international relations and security.

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About

We conceptualise institutions dynamically by studying the interactions between institutions – both formal and informal - and their behavioural context. This applies to the analysis of the impact of party competition on public policies, changing family structures and their consequences for inequalities, changing norms of governance and conflict and their implications for politics and geo-politics. 

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News

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Zuzanna Samson receives ISA Fred Hartmann Award

The EUI Department of Political and Social Sciences is pleased to announce that PhD researcher Zuzanna Samson is the recipient of the Fred Hartmann Award from the International Studies Association for a paper presented at the ISA Northeast Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

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The power of being slightly ahead: Arnout van de Rijt on why 51% matters

In this #EUIResearch interview, Professor Arnout van de Rijt, Head of the EUI Department of Political and Social Sciences, shows how even a small edge in popularity, such as 51% versus 49%, can snowball and shape collective decisions, with implications for elections, social media, and online platforms.

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Before the job, the image: Jule Hauf on gender and career choice

In this #MyEUIResearch interview, Jule Hauf investigates why men and women still cluster in different jobs, exploring barriers, stereotypes, and policy levers. From STEM fields to nursing, she examines how culture, early socialisation, and structural incentives shape choices, and what might shift the balance.

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Events

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Publications

The Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) specialises in comparative politics, sociology, political and social theory and international relations.

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Video Spotlight

#MyEUIResearch with Meret Stephan | Treading the protest path

The EUI PhD programme in Political and Social Sciences

A PhD at the EUI - Start the intellectual adventure of a lifetime

Department of Political and Social Sciences

Villa Sanfelice

Via dei Roccettini, 3
50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI)

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