Wesleyan's Department of Government is dedicated to exploring "who gets what, when, and how," as Harold Lasswell defined political science in 1935. The Department might well be called a department of political science or a department of politics; it is called a Department of Government for historical reasons. Department faculty today uphold a tradition, more than a century old, of distinction in scholarship and teaching. Each tenured or tenure-track Government Department faculty member is affiliated with a concentration representing one of the four major subfields of political science.

American Politics

The study of political institutions, processes, and behavior in the United States.

Dancey, Logan
Eisner, Marc
Franklin Fowler, Erika
Kus, Basak
Mark, Alyx
Moore, Steven
Peck, Justin

Comparative Politics

The evolution of political institutions, conflict, and development in countries around the world.

Haddad, Mary Alice 
Matesan, Ioana Emy
McGuire, James W.
Rutland, Peter

Wiliarty, Sarah E.

International Relations

How countries interact with one another; the structure of the international order.

Dolan, Lindsay
Foyle, Douglas C. (Department Chair)
Gallarotti, Giulio M.
Hanson, Kolby
 

Political Theory

Normative aspects of politics; the history of political thought.

Chakravarti, Sonali
Hagel, Nina
Ramesh, Hari

Emeritus Faculty

Boyd, Richard W.
Craig, Barbara H.
Crenshaw, Martha
Finn, John E.
Moon, J. Donald
Murphy, Russell
Schwartz, Nancy

Courtesy Faculty

Cassidy, Robert (CSPL)
Cho, Joan E. (CEAS)