Description
The PhD program in Political Science is a three-year postgraduate program offered by the Department of Political Science at the University of Pisa. The University of Pisa, established in 1343, is one of the oldest and most leading universities in Italy with a longstanding tradition of excellence in higher education and research. The Department has a strong interdisciplinary orientation and benefits from the active involvement of of scholars from social, political, and international studies in the doctoral program.
The PhD program is grounded in an awareness of the multidimensional and complex nature of the present time. Its reading, analysis, and interpretation can only be carried out through a multiplicity of social, historical, political, institutional, and geopolitical criteria so that the intersection between the various cultural planes and strategies serves as a valuable tool not only for intellectual inquiry but also in the development of frameworks and instruments aimed at addressing tensions, conflicts, contradictions, differing perspectives, and interests. To this end, the active engagement of scholars of the various disciplines is actively encouraged in the definition of new objectives and innovative research methods suitable for explaining the phenomena and characteristics of contemporary complexity, such as new forms of social relations and communication, the transformation of global political culture, the dialectic between the local and the global, the new dynamics of internationalization.
Research area
The Ph.D. in Political Science has as its central area the contemporary social and political complexity with particular reference to the form and quality of social, political, and economic relations, to the processes of participation or exclusion in accessing resources (also in the face of the dynamics introduced by new media) and to the transformations of citizenship and international relations in the context of the challenges that contemporary societies are facing, also in relation to sustainable development.
This research area is part of the second Pillar of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021–2027), specifically within the thematic cluster “Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society”, and in particular with reference to the two axes “Democracy and Governance” and “Social and Economic Transformations”, which have always represented the preferential areas of interest and research capable of aggregating the different skills and disciplinary affiliations of professors and researchers belonging to the PhD program (referring to the ERC SH2 and SH3 areas).
The long-standing tradition of collaborations with other disciplinary areas not represented in the Department and with other PhDs allows the development of research paths aimed at integrating the know-how of Social Sciences within the projects addressing key topics of the Framework Programme (civil security, digital innovation, information and communication technologies, climate, mobility, environment, public health, communities, and cities).
Objectives
The course aims to train analysts with a multidisciplinary preparation that enables them to develop a thorough understanding of the systemic implications of their specific field of study and to interact effectively with various administrations, international bodies and organizations, civil society, and businesses. PhDs in Political Science possess the knowledge not only to continue research in the public and private sectors but also to work within the management and governance bodies of international, national, and local institutions, as well as companies, non-governmental organizations, and non-profit associations.