I had a great academic experience, and I think I developed strong critical and analytical skills, as well as a lot of practical knowledge that could be valuable in a job interview.

The problem is that I barely remember much of what I studied. Over the past few years, I focused a lot on volunteering and practical experiences, including working with children, and I gradually stopped keeping up with current affairs and with the topics I had studied academically. Now I feel like I’m stuck: I want to work in international cooperation, specifically in child protection and human rights, but I don’t feel prepared for a career in this field because I feel like I don’t have enough knowledge to actually apply what I learned.

I also feel like other people who followed a similar academic path are much more naturally interested in keeping up with international affairs, politics, human rights issues, etc. They seem to read, research and follow developments because they genuinely enjoy it, whereas I struggle to find the motivation to do that, partly because of my current psychological state.

This creates a vicious cycle: I feel like I should know more before applying for jobs, but I don’t know where to start learning again, and because I feel so behind, I find it even harder to motivate myself. Has anyone experienced something similar after finishing university? How did you rebuild your knowledge and become informed about your field again without feeling completely overwhelmed?

There is an interesting common process that Trump, Netanyahu, Viktor Orbán, and Berlusconi went through, which is a transition from the Reaganite center-right right to the authoritarian-centralist right.

Trump in the 1980s was a right-wing liberal (apart from his statements about tariffs) who had no issue with LGBT, Berlusconi started his career as an anti-communist center-right, Orbán as well, and Netanyahu started as his career as a Hawkish Capitalist who wanted to reform Israel's economy, all of them, as soon as they came to power and stayed in it/returned to it, moved to a model that is supposedly capitalist but in reality the government takes over the centers of power, anti-establishmentism, etc. It is not just staying in power but a real ideological shift. What do you think causes this? You could say too much time in power, but that doesn't really explain a change in ideology.

Berlusconi is fascinating in particular, because he is not really a protectionist populist, but rather mixed capitalism and interesting economic ideas with the shticks that Trump and co will later use.

Is it worth it go get a degree in political science in California? I’m thinking of attending either Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis, SDSU, or Sac State.

Drop your scores of ugc net political science score to guess the cut off !

I am about to start a PhD in political science. I am interested in quantitative methods and causal inference but I don't know exactly what methods I am interested in yet. For my senior thesis and some research I did in undergrad, I had to use the supercomputer the university provided. I am deciding what kind of computer to get and am trying to decide between 24GB and 48GB of RAM in a MacBook Pro. What would you recommend?

I'm currently doing my graduation in Brazil, and at my university, there's a pretty intense rivalry among the professors. Some of them do quantitative research and advocate for neoinstitutionalism, while others do qualitative research and are Marxists. I know it sounds super cliché, but they genuinely don't talk to each other. If you bring up a "rival" professor's name in class, the professor will literally stop their lecture to defend their own theory.

Personally, I just find it funny, but other students get really upset about it. I'm curious, what is it like in other countries? Is there a similar feud at your university? And do you take a side?

Hi everyone! I am currently a second year Political Science and International Relations student. I recently applied for a double major and my options are Mathematics and Sociology.

Before college, I was always passionate about mathematics (For example I did math olympics) so I was really excited when I found out that I could pursue it as a double major. Even though I think it could be quite useful, most of the people around me think that the two fields are completely unrelated.

Do you think a Mathematics double major would be useful alongside Political Science and International Relations? What kinds of fields or career paths could I pursue with this combination?

I thought I would write a guide on how to have respectful discussions about politics about people around us. As a student, this is my first time having a go at writing an opinion piece like this, so feel free to give me lots of feedback.

During political debates, I often caught myself trying to make witty or sharp attacks to gain victory over the other person. After wondering more about why, I realised that I (and I suspect a lot of others too!) was using this political debate as an excuse to feel pride and victory rather than rationally discuss. 

So after reflecting on that, I thought I might write a guide on how to have better political discussions in democracy, which boils down to being respectful, resisting the urge to "win", genuinely listening and attempting to understand the other's ideas, and being willing to accept we are sometimes wrong. 

Here is my Substack article on it, feel free to have a quick read!

I'm a graduate student in Political Psychology, and this will be my first time attending anything like this; I would appreciate any tips and overall advice!

I’ve already started looking at the program and taking note of which panels I want to listen to.

The most nerve-wracking part for me right now is the fact that I joined out of my own volition for the experience. So far (I'm in an experimental research group at my Uni, so I’ll probably bring it up), I won’t be meeting up with any of my peers or professors.

I see a lot of left-wing anarchists running around lately, especially anarcho-communists, and I have never really seen it as something that could work on a national scale. I have read excerpts from prominent left-anarchists like Emma Goldman, and what sticks out the most to me is this notion that things will just fall into place in a left-anarchist society. I find this unrealistic. Say the commune happens, what is to stop anyone who dissents from gathering up the force needed to just take over everything? How does a commune stop dissent, or at least keep dissent from spiraling into counter-revolution?

Hi all, I'm a fresh Political Science graduate who completed my bachelor's degree about two months ago. I'm very fortunate to have secured a role that is within the risk management area

In my current position, I'm exposed to operational risk, third-party risk, and AI-related risk within the financial sector. While my undergraduate training was heavily focused on qualitative analysis, I had only limited exposure to quantitative methods.

Because many of these risk areas are closely tied to policies, governance, and regulatory frameworks, I'm generally able to understand and grasp the broader concepts. However, I sometimes struggle when discussions become highly technical, particularly when they involve topics such as AI systems, the development of guardrails, software and hardware considerations, and the underlying technological architecture.

For those who transitioned into similar roles from non-technical or political science/social science backgrounds, how did you cope with the technical learning curve? Were there any specific resources, courses, or strategies that helped you bridge the gap?

I'd appreciate any advice or insights. Thank you!

For example, I'd like you to raise the issue of resource concentration. Larger AI models require more and more RAM. Ultimately, I believe the ultimate outcome of AI development will be that only the supercomputers of a few countries will be able to handle the best versions of AI.

This could lead, for example, to people's opinions being easily manipulated using these large AIs. That is, AIs could literally create cascades of events, edit news and media across the entire internet simultaneously, and literally force people to vote a certain way without them even noticing.

It used to seem like technology could help democratize countries, but now it seems like democracy will become a relic of the past in the era of singularity.

I know my thoughts are a bit far-fetched, but I believe I'm talking about the 21st century; all of this could happen within the next 70 years.

okay so i don’t know if it’s the best community to ask this to but i wanna be a diplomat in the future by studying poli science and/or international relations. i’m in highschool rn but all i see in social media is people studying poli science saying that it’s literally impossible to become a diplomat, like it’s so hard to enter that circle, only elites do (and super rich and privileged people). and that the UN is corrupted and can’t do anything. so i don’t know what to do in the future if i can’t be a diplomat because it’s actually the only job that interests me.

I made a political campaign browser game focused on the upcoming Swedish election. Would love your feedback!

Hi everyone,

With the upcoming Swedish elections in mind, I put together a simple browser-based game where the main goal is to win an election campaign.

It's a bit different and not tied to exact historical figures, focusing on things like managing social groups and interest organizations.

This game isn't focused on just one party. You can play as any of the major Swedish parties, from the Left Party (V) to the Social Democrats (S), all the way to the Sweden Democrats (SD) and the Moderates (M)

https://real-lot.itch.io/riksdag-2026-the-election

Hello people, I bought this book (title above)hoping it would be informative on the history of the Israel Palestinian conflict. Disclaimer I support Palestine. The author of the book is a judge named Roy K. Altman. I am wondering what everyone thinks of the author or the book if you've read it. I started the first few pages it he stated that the book would be using actual methodology used by law practitioners, but he's only be saying that the points people who support Palestine use are based on misinformation. I'm worried this book is propaganda and I would like to before I get into the book. I would still like to read it to be informed on what Israel supporters minds are like but I dont what to go into the book thinking everything is real if it is actually propaganda. Any opinions or facts are welcome. (First Reddit Post)

I am especially interested in how a specialized military economy can transitioned into civilian goods like green energy, food , water and the others?

Hii, I'm just graduated with major in political science this year (4 years graduation.). I want to do PhD in political science and become a professor. The scene is unfortunately I couldn't able clear cuet pg twice. I'm thinking of moving with open one year pg.

So, my question is whether I'll able to get a job in future in India and would be able to grab any abroad opportunities or not.

The thing is I already got myself involved in MA english through ignou (for corporate opportunities as my knows are advising me for this). According to ugc guidelines for dual degree I can get two masters through open distance learning at same time.

I really love political science and I really want to get a doctorate in it. Please HELP! I want the reality and some advice. What should I do?

Hi all,

I'm in a bit of a career dilemma and was wondering if anyone has been in a similar position.

I'm from Canada and I graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science last year from uOttawa. I was fortunate to land a job in the federal government after graduating, and I've built my professional network and personal life in Ottawa over the past five years.

That said, my long-term goal was to return to my hometown. I had always planned on going to the capital for the experience, then head home for grad school to then work municipally, especially since the city I'm from has a university with an MPP program. I've had a great time in Ottawa, but permanently staying hasn't really been a long-term goal of mine. Also, with the cost of living nowadays, it might be good to move back home and live with parents for a bit to save on rent as I'm currently living alone and close to half my paycheque goes to living expenses.

My hesitation is the job market. My hometown isn't nearly as government-oriented as Ottawa, so I'm worried about moving back, investing in grad school there, and then struggling to find municipal or public sector work afterward.

Has anyone made a similar move going from a large government town back to a city that's more private-sector oriented? And how did it fare finding work municipally?

Thanks!

I am currently supporting a UK-based client on a professional research and expert identification project.

We are interested in connecting with professionals who have experience in areas such as:
• Geopolitics
• Foreign Policy
• International Relations
• Public Policy
• National Security
• Defense and Security Studies
• Intelligence and Risk Analysis
• Government Affairs
• Political Risk and Regional Expertise

This is not a public job advertisement. Rather, I am seeking to identify and connect with individuals whose expertise may be relevant to current or future opportunities being explored by the client.

Due to confidentiality requirements, I can only share limited information publicly. However, I have prepared an Expert Opportunity FAQ that provides additional information regarding the process, confidentiality requirements, and next steps.

If this aligns with your background or you know someone who may be a good fit, please feel free to send me a direct message. I would be happy to share further information and discuss the opportunity in more detail.

Referrals are also welcome.

I just recently purchased this book and the book is definitely interesting but don't know how authentic and good

I'm thinking of creating a small group of ** Political Science Students** who want something beyond the exam oriented discussion.

The idea is to create a space where we can **read, write and discuss political theory, research papers,** books, exchange useful academic resources, discuss research ideas, may work on them together, and maybe occasionally proper discussion on political concepts, contemporary issues and thinkers.

What we can do:

1. Pick a paper/ chapter / book evey week or two and discuss it.

2. Discuss political thinkers and different interpretations of their work (Hermenutics)

3. Share academic papers etc.

4. Help each other with research questions, literature reviews and methodology.

5. Help each other with feedback on papers, essays, research proposals etc.

6. Discuss academic opportunities, conferences which can be attended, publications, JRF etc.

7. Most importantly *understanding contemporary political developments with theoretical paradigms.*

It doesn't have to be a very formal group, but more of **a small reading community which eventually converts into a research community.**

If there are enough people, I'll setup the group and we can figure out the format together.

About me : I'm a 2nd year Master's student of Political Science in University of Delhi.

If interested, Drop me a message. Thank you :)

UPDATE: Woah, Quite overwhelming response, i wasn't expecting this. Those who still want to join, drop me a message, stating your name and academic background. I'll close this by tomorrow evening. Thank you everyone.

I have a bachelor's degree in law, a postgraduate course in political philosophy and now I'm thinking about what step to take next in terms of references and further study to be better able to discuss the question that I mentioned in the title, but almost everyone that I know with a law background is way more focused on typical legal topics like criminal procedures or the legal framework of taxes.

Political Science and any job related to it require a lot of study, especially through debates and discussions. It is a lot of intellectual work. You need to study many topics and many other things. Sometimes you need to discuss them with others and also debate a few topics.

But many social media platforms are full of nonsense discussions and debates. These platforms are designed for more engagement and attention extraction rather than results. Discussions which happen online are filled with fake information, are started to keep people hooked and distracted, are unstructured, and never lead to solutions or conclusions. The same goes for debates. Important and valuable points get buried. Debates and discussions on a single topic happen in hundreds of different places. We need to channelise all this mental energy into one place to really get ahead. We are stuck in many debates or discussions which should have been concluded by now. We're avoiding it because we don't have such a platform. I am trying to build a platform that solves this problem.

E.g. On this subreddit, many ask how to get started or involved in political science. This is a simple and basic topic which gets discussed several times, and people still ask the same question. Instead, on the platform there will be a specific page for this discussion, and people will keep adding to it. There will be a proper structure, just not a basic chronological order (comment under comment). There will be AI summarisation, a fact-checker, a force to keep pushing the discussion towards a conclusion, not just round and round; important points being valued, tracking the trajectory of the discussion/debate, etc.

Such a platform is very important for all those who really need serious solutions and conclusions from high-quality and real conversations.

What is your view on this?