Department of Political and Social Sciences

We focus on contemporary challenges facing European politics and societies

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.

People

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

Research

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

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.

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.

SPS theses of the month: June

The Department of Political and Social Sciences is delighted to announce that during the month of June, 12 researchers have successfully defended their dissertations.

Annamaria Laudini explores shifting dynamics of caste and gender in migration

What happens to deeply rooted social hierarchies associated with caste and gender when people move across borders, and how do they, in turn, shape migratory paths? Annamaria Laudini, PhD researcher at the EUI, explores these questions through ethnographic fieldwork in Italy and Punjab.

EUI workshop convenes global scholars to explore political behaviour in CEE

On 19–20 June 2025, the Department of Political and Social Sciences (SPS) hosted an engaging workshop to explore the political dynamics of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Anton Hemerijck on why Europe’s welfare state is stronger than you think

In this interview, EUI Professor Anton Hemerijck explains why Europe's welfare states emerged stronger from recent crises, and how social investment is now central to economic resilience, even in the face of populism, ageing, and new fiscal pressures.

Publications

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

Browse all the SPS Departments repository