The Department of Political Science
The Department of Political Science's primary role is to coordinate the various pedagogical activities related to the discipline within the institution. In close collaboration with the four research centers (CEE, CERI, CEVIPOF, CDSP), it develops strategies for the teaching programs at the undergraduate college and the graduate schools. It defines guidelines for the recruitment of faculty members and participates in career management. Its missions are carried out while ensuring the representativeness and balance of the different subfields within the discipline.
The Department of Political Science currently has the largest number of members, across all statuses (around 90), within the permanent faculty.
As of January 1st, 2023, and for a three-year term, the elected members of the department's board are: Thierry Balzacq (CERI), Juliette Galonnier (CERI), Jan Rovny (CEE), Patrick Le Bihan (CEVIPOF), Joost de Moor (CEE), and Réjane Sénac (CEVIPOF). Réjane Sénac has been elected head of the department. She is a CNRS research director at CEVIPOF, the Center for Political Research at Sciences Po, where she also teaches. She is a member of the steering committee for the PRESAGE gender studies research and teaching program. Additionally, she serves on the Scientific Council of the Cité du Genre – USPC.
Her research primarily focuses on contemporary expressions of the principle of equality through the lens of legitimate and illegitimate differentiations. From analyzing the use of gender parity and diversity to examining the so-called "gender theory," her work explores the connections between differentiations that shape the public sphere—particularly in politics and law—and the principle of justice at the heart of the social contract. In her recent research, she addresses the synergies in contemporary movements against injustices, as well as exclusion policies and the relationship with animal rights issues. Notably, she has published L'égalité sous condition. Genre, parité, diversité (Presses de Sciences Po, 2015); Radicales et fluides. Les mobilisations contemporaines (Presses de Sciences Po, 2021); Politique de l'exclusion (PUF, 2024); and Comme si nous étions des animaux (Seuil, 2024).
