The Comparative Politics Student Research Committee was founded by IAPSS to bring together academics, researchers and students with shared interest in various subfields under the realm of Comparative Politics. The SRC invites members from undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels to make individual and collective contributions to the advancement of knowledge in this critical domain of scholarship.
The researchers are expected to study and analyze a variety of topics, such as electoral behaviour and election studies, colonial and post-colonial studies, constitutionalism, domestic determinants of foreign policy, social movements and issues, federalism, party system, political communication, political economy, political institutions, leadership and populism besides providing scope for work on public policy, rural and urban governance, e-governance, subaltern and area studies.
The proposed activities of the newest SRC include public lectures delivered by the members as well as research publication and dissemination opportunities through outlets such as the World Congress Conference, A Different View, Politikon and podcasts within and beyond the IAPSS. Moreover, the Comparative Politics SRC has also planned for guest lectures from invited experts, regular panel discussions, quarterly newsletter and workshops as well as an annual SRC conclave comprised of multiple events including student conference, quiz, policy making as well as other discipline apt events including debate, extempore, essays, mini simulations and other events focused on Comparative Politics helping bolster the academic potential of students and young scholars.
Current Theme: The Test of Global Democracy: Elections Around the World
The upcoming current semester will be dedicated to an engaging project titled “The Test of Global Democracy: Elections Around the World”. 2024 being a year when more than 50 countries around the world will elect their next governments, is likely to be the highest until 2049 again.
Throughout the semester, research scholars will conduct detailed studies of elections, the cornerstone of democratic governance on the global stage where collaborative research opportunities as well as expert and practitioners insights will provide an intellectually stimulating environment for scholars to critically analyse the electoral processes, considering diverse case studies from different regions and in turn also examining the impact of elections on social dynamics, governance and global geopolitics.
Through a plethora of activities, this SRC shall aim to develop a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of psephology through qualitative as well as quantitative (databased) analysis of the challenges and successes of campaign strategy and democratic processes around the world.
Members are expected to work individually and in groups and contribute to the SRC theme with written reports and lectures. Interested members must submit their CV and a short research proposal on the SRC theme.
In case of inquiries, please contact Soumyadeep Chowdhury, Chair, at cpchair.src@iapss.org. We are looking forward to receiving your application and/or questions about our SRC and its projects.
Soumyadeep Chowdhury
Chair, Comparative Politics Student Research Committee
cpchair.src@iapss.org
Soumyadeep Chowdhury is a post-graduate candidate in Political Science under the University of Calcutta and a UGC-NET qualified Assistant Professor, aspiring for doctoral research abroad. A Gold Medalist in Political Science, he has also held several student leadership positions while he was in school and college. Soumyadeep intends to specialise in Indian Politics, Comparative Government and Public Policy spatially concentrated in South Asia. His research associations with prestigious institutions including Yale University, USA, King’s College, London and University of Hyderabad, India together with his publications, already significant in number with upcoming works in Scopus indexed journals demonstrate his acumen as an emerging scholar committed to the cause of making democracy work in the Global South. An avid public speaker on issues of contemporary socio-political importance, Soumyadeep firmly believes that words are indeed incredibly powerful to change the world.
