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Programs and Centers

Both Graduate and Undergraduate students are able to participate in several centers and special programs. These programs frequently involve both teaching and research activities and provide opportunities for valuable multidisciplinary experiences.

American Politics Workshop

The American Politics Workshop is a bi-weekly research workshop for all faculty and graduate students interested in American Politics. Please visit the Workshop's website for more information.

Center for American Politics and Citizenship

The Center for American Politics and Citizenship (CAPC) was established for the purpose of using social science research to improve democracy in the United States. It brings together faculty, researchers, political practitioners and students who study political institutions, processes, behavior, and public policy. One of the center's guiding principles is that academic research should be devoted to public purposes, including helping government officials and citizens understand complex policy concerns. A second principle is that academic research should be used to help citizens participate more effectively in politics. CAPC's research focuses on campaigns and elections; voting systems; American national, state, and local government, and public policy. CAPC faculty supervise internships and teach graduate and undergraduate classes in political science, research methodology, and political leadership. CAPC is the home of the Maryland Elections Center, which provides citizens with information about their voter registration, polling place locations, and the financing of Maryland elections.

CAPC is directed by Professor Paul S. Herrnson. It draws personnel from the Department of Government and Politics, the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, the Department of Sociology, the School of Public Affairs, and other departments at the University of Maryland. Faculty from other Washington, D.C.-area universities, elected officials, political appointees, civil servants, party officials, interest group leaders, think tank researchers, journalists, and political practitioners also participate in various CAPC activities. For more information, visit the Center for American Politics and Citizenship website.

Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy

The Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy (CP4), which began in 1998, is an interdisciplinary graduate specialization and research consortium that is a joint venture of the Department of Government and Politics, the Department of Philosophy, the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, and the School of Public Affairs. The Committee is open to graduate students pursuing the Ph.D. in Government and Politics, Philosophy, or the School of Public Affairs. The College Park campus possesses special strengths in political theory, moral philosophy, and public policy, and the Committee offers graduate students from various departments the opportunity to take advantage of these strengths. For more information contact the Director, Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy, 3111 Van Munching Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. E-mail: ksoltan@gvpt.umd.edu . For more information, visit the Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy website.

Center for International Development and Conflict Management

Overview

The University of Maryland's Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) is strategically located at the nexus of theory and practice, academics and activism, economic development and civil society, technology and human needs. The projects of CIDCM have been dedicated to pursuing new and better understanding about the dynamics of conflict and conflict resolution, with a special emphasis on the role of economic development and information technology in conflict-prone societies. CIDCM's accomplished scholars, its expertise in data collection and analysis, and its direct involvement in regional conflict management efforts make the Center a unique resource for discovering enduring solutions to the world's most intractable conflicts.

Mission

For more than 20 years, scholars and practitioners at the Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) have sought ways to understand and address conflicts over security, identity, and distributive justice. CIDCM programs are based on the belief that "peace building and development-with-justice are two sides of the same coin." (Edward Azar, 1987). With this philosophy at its core, the Center has acted as a forum for the expression of a broad range of views about the transition from war to peace. CIDCM has grown into a major research enterprise attracting leading scholars in the conflict resolution field. Members of CIDCM have become well-known in both academia and in policy communities for their efforts related to conflict resolution and conflict transformation. CIDCM also hosts several major international databases on societal conflict, including Minorities at Risk, POLITY, State Failure, and International Crisis Behavior (ICB).

CIDCM has been involved in conflict management programs in the Middle East, South and East Asia, Latin America, Africa, the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union. A special focus of the Center's work is linkage of information technology, development and conflict management, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2002, CIDCM joined forces with the University's Project on International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) to offer internet-based training in negotiation and crisis management to students and practitioners in international, government and non-governmental organizations. For more information, visit the CIDCM Home Page.

Center for International Security Studies at Maryland

The Center for International Security Studies at Maryland, established in 1987, provides university-wide opportunities for research, training, and publication in the field of international security studies. The Center works with many colleges and departments throughout the University to provide conferences, guest lectures, and special seminars on topics that relate to the complex challenges of achieving peace and security in the 1990s.

Each year, CISSM invites a multinational group of junior and senior scholars to College Park to work with the Center's faculty, staff and students on a variety of individual and collaborative projects. The Center maintains an archive of selected historical materials in international security affairs.

CISSM is a non-degree granting program. It is in a position, however, to advise students on how to develop a balanced and comprehensive program in international security studies. Professor John Steinbruner is director of the program.

Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies

The Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies (CSPCS) was established in 1990. The CSPCS' mission is to develop and foster collaborative interdisciplinary research and public policy activities between American and East Central European educational institutions. The Center's aim is to advance and cultivate cooperation between scholars and policy makers working on issues of consolidation of democracy, market oriented economic transition, institutional development in post-communist countries, political culture, and the emergence of nationalism in the region of East Central Europe. For more information, visit the CSPCS homepage.

Committee on the Political Economy of the Good Society

The national offices of the Committee on the Political Economy of the Good Society ("PEGS") is located in the Department and Professor Stephen Elkin is Chair of the Executive Board. The two other members of the Executive Board also have Department appointments. PEGS is an ideologically diverse non-profit organization that seeks to promote discussion regarding alternative political-economic theories and new institutional designs. By encouraging the development of practical visions of the good society, PEGS is attempting to create the theoretical foundations necessary for the restructuring of political-economic systems and the institutions to promote the values of liberty, democracy, equality and environmental sustainability.

The PEGS journal, The Good Society, is published with the assistance of graduate students interested in political economy. In addition, PEGS conducts colloquia on relevant topics for faculty and students on the campus. For more information, visit the Committee on the Political Economy of the Good Society website.

Comparative Politics Field Workshop

The Comparative Politics Workshop is a research workshop for all faculty and graduate students interested in Comparative Politics. The workshop serves as a forum for the presentation of work in progress by advanced graduate students, UMD faculty, and faculty from other universities. Please visit the Workshop's website for an up-to-date workshop schedule.

Democracy Collaborative

Engaged Scholarship & Informed Practice for a More Democratic World

The Democracy Collaborative is an international consortium of leading academic centers, civil society organizations, distinguished scholars and seasoned practitioners. It was created in 2000 as a response to the “democratic deficit” that imperils the world and to the unprecedented opportunities for building democracy in the post-Cold War era. The Collaborative’s founding premise is that while democracy as theory has triumphed over its adversaries, democracy as practice faces daunting challenges in the US and in every region of the world. The global network created by the Collaborative works together to strengthen democracy, employing innovative cross-disciplinary approaches to theoretical and practical research, curricular enhancement, policy development, teaching, training, and community action.

A number of professors within the Department of Government and Politics are among the founders of The Democracy Collaborative, including Gar Alperovitz, Benjamin Barber, Stephen Elkin and Linda Williams. For more information, visit the Collaborative’s website at: www.democracycollaborative.org

Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda

Global environmental change, demographic trends, and the diffusion of technological innovations are rapidly reshaping the international system. Disregarding national borders, these forces are transforming international relations, deepening interdependence, and forging a global system from a world of sovereign states. Creating a more sustainable planet for the next century will require dealing with a wide range of policy issues raised by this rapid acceleration of events. The Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda engages in futures-oriented teaching and research that will contribute to humanity’s ability to anticipate and deal effectively with these important currents of change.

Global trends suggest both promise and peril. Sharpening differences between rich and poor have shifted the axis of international conflict from East-West to North-South. Rapid population growth and environmental degradation threaten to perpetuate the cycle of disease and poverty in the world’s poorer countries, many of which are also burdened by problems of debt, social conflict, and political instability. Wealthier countries are distracted by their own problems and authority crises, intensified by increasing integration into the global economy and the aging of their populations. On a more positive note, a fundamental trend is now discernible which bears the potential to change the predominant notion of progress from one that emphasizes quantitative growth to one that values qualitative human growth informed by a growing concern for long-term sustainability.

The Harrison Program examines these significant issues in an effort to understand the nature and interaction of environmental, technological, social, and political systems, and to suggest potential means of breaking out of destructive patterns of behavior. To this end, faculty develop new and innovative educational materials, conduct scholarly research, and organize conferences and workshops that bring together scientists, social theorists, advocates, and policy makers to examine key components of the future global agenda.Visit the Harrison Home Page for more information.

International Relations Field Workshop

Maryland Collective Choice Center

The Maryland Collective Choice Center coordinates and sponsors both educational and research efforts in the field of collective choice. These efforts include seminars, conferences, workshops and courses at the Ph.D. level. The field of collective choice, also called formal theory and public choice, uses theories of individual rational choice behavior to study non-market phenomena. Professor Joe Oppenheimer is the Director of the Center. The following faculty are members of the Center:

From the Department of Government and Politics: Douglas Grob, David Lalman, Mark Lichbach, Joe Oppenheimer, Karol Soltan, Piotr Swistak.
From the Department of Economics: Larry Ausubel, Peter Coughlin, Peter Crampton, Allan Drazen, Peter Murrell, Francisco Rodriguez, Thomas Schelling, John Wallis.

Visit the UMCCC Home Page for more information.

Political Philosophy/Theory Workshop

The Political Philosophy/Theory Workshop within our department serves as a forum for the presentations of work in progress by advanced graduate students, as well as University of Maryland faculty.

Program on Global Security and Disarmament

The Program on Global Security and Disarmament (PGSD) is based in the Department of Government and Politics, at the University of Maryland. PGSD is an integrated program of research, analysis, international networking, training and public education. The program focuses on increasing the understanding of issues in global security, including the concept of general disarmament, both in the academic community and the general public.

Project ICONS

The International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project is an interdisciplinary effort that uses computer simulation techniques to teach international negotiation. ICONS focuses on the ways foreign policies are developed and negotiated, and its aim is to help students better understand the interdependence of international issues and the complexities of intercultural communication. Professor Jonathan Wilkenfeld is the Director of Project ICONS.

Participants assume the roles of foreign policy makers and negotiate through teleconferencing on behalf of the nations they represent, grappling with such problems as the international debt crisis, human rights violations, north-south relations and development issues, arms control, the balance of trade, and global environmental concerns.

ICONS was begun as a tool to enable students to grasp the complexities of international relations. ICONS has now grown to include nearly 2,000 students each year at universities and high schools throughout the United States, and in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Visit the ICONS Home Page for more information.

Public Service Fellowship Program

The Public Service Fellowship Program combines academic studies with work experiences in the public sector. Most Fellows spend the Fall semester on campus in course work and undertake the work experience off campus in the Spring semester. In some cases the work experience can be spread over the Fall and Spring semesters.

Most Fellows will be placed with agencies of the Maryland State government. Others may be assigned to local of regional organizations, including governmental agencies, interest groups, and political parties, as opportunities arise. Fellows receive the same stipend and tuition remission as graduate teaching assistants.Professor Vincent Marando serves as the director of the program. Students interested in applying for the Public Service Fellowship Program should complete the regular application form as well as a special application.

Applications must be received by February 1. For application materials or for additional information, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies.


Home \| Contact GVPT
	Programs and Centers Home > Programs and Centers Both Graduate and Undergraduate students are able to participate in several centers and special programs. These programs frequently involve both teaching and research activities and provide opportunities for valuable multidisciplinary experiences. American Politics Workshop The American Politics Workshop is a bi-weekly research workshop for all faculty and graduate students interested in American Politics. Please visit the Workshop's website for more information. Center for American Politics and Citizenship The Center for American Politics and Citizenship (CAPC) was established for the purpose of using social science research to improve democracy in the United States. It brings together faculty, researchers, political practitioners and students who study political institutions, processes, behavior, and public policy. One of the center's guiding principles is that academic research should be devoted to public purposes, including helping government officials and citizens understand complex policy concerns. A second principle is that academic research should be used to help citizens participate more effectively in politics. CAPC's research focuses on campaigns and elections; voting systems; American national, state, and local government, and public policy. CAPC faculty supervise internships and teach graduate and undergraduate classes in political science, research methodology, and political leadership. CAPC is the home of the Maryland Elections Center, which provides citizens with information about their voter registration, polling place locations, and the financing of Maryland elections. CAPC is directed by Professor Paul S. Herrnson. It draws personnel from the Department of Government and Politics, the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, the Department of Sociology, the School of Public Affairs, and other departments at the University of Maryland. Faculty from other Washington, D.C.-area universities, elected officials, political appointees, civil servants, party officials, interest group leaders, think tank researchers, journalists, and political practitioners also participate in various CAPC activities. For more information, visit the Center for American Politics and Citizenship website. Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy The Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy (CP4), which began in 1998, is an interdisciplinary graduate specialization and research consortium that is a joint venture of the Department of Government and Politics, the Department of Philosophy, the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, and the School of Public Affairs. The Committee is open to graduate students pursuing the Ph.D. in Government and Politics, Philosophy, or the School of Public Affairs. The College Park campus possesses special strengths in political theory, moral philosophy, and public policy, and the Committee offers graduate students from various departments the opportunity to take advantage of these strengths. For more information contact the Director, Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy, 3111 Van Munching Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. E-mail: ksoltan@gvpt.umd.edu . For more information, visit the Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy website. Center for International Development and Conflict Management Overview The University of Maryland's Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) is strategically located at the nexus of theory and practice, academics and activism, economic development and civil society, technology and human needs. The projects of CIDCM have been dedicated to pursuing new and better understanding about the dynamics of conflict and conflict resolution, with a special emphasis on the role of economic development and information technology in conflict-prone societies. CIDCM's accomplished scholars, its expertise in data collection and analysis, and its direct involvement in regional conflict management efforts make the Center a unique resource for discovering enduring solutions to the world's most intractable conflicts. Mission For more than 20 years, scholars and practitioners at the Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) have sought ways to understand and address conflicts over security, identity, and distributive justice. CIDCM programs are based on the belief that "peace building and development-with-justice are two sides of the same coin." (Edward Azar, 1987). With this philosophy at its core, the Center has acted as a forum for the expression of a broad range of views about the transition from war to peace. CIDCM has grown into a major research enterprise attracting leading scholars in the conflict resolution field. Members of CIDCM have become well-known in both academia and in policy communities for their efforts related to conflict resolution and conflict transformation. CIDCM also hosts several major international databases on societal conflict, including Minorities at Risk, POLITY, State Failure, and International Crisis Behavior (ICB). CIDCM has been involved in conflict management programs in the Middle East, South and East Asia, Latin America, Africa, the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union. A special focus of the Center's work is linkage of information technology, development and conflict management, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2002, CIDCM joined forces with the University's Project on International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) to offer internet-based training in negotiation and crisis management to students and practitioners in international, government and non-governmental organizations. For more information, visit the CIDCM Home Page. Center for International Security Studies at Maryland The Center for International Security Studies at Maryland, established in 1987, provides university-wide opportunities for research, training, and publication in the field of international security studies. The Center works with many colleges and departments throughout the University to provide conferences, guest lectures, and special seminars on topics that relate to the complex challenges of achieving peace and security in the 1990s. Each year, CISSM invites a multinational group of junior and senior scholars to College Park to work with the Center's faculty, staff and students on a variety of individual and collaborative projects. The Center maintains an archive of selected historical materials in international security affairs. CISSM is a non-degree granting program. It is in a position, however, to advise students on how to develop a balanced and comprehensive program in international security studies. Professor John Steinbruner is director of the program. Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies The Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies (CSPCS) was established in 1990. The CSPCS' mission is to develop and foster collaborative interdisciplinary research and public policy activities between American and East Central European educational institutions. The Center's aim is to advance and cultivate cooperation between scholars and policy makers working on issues of consolidation of democracy, market oriented economic transition, institutional development in post-communist countries, political culture, and the emergence of nationalism in the region of East Central Europe. For more information, visit the CSPCS homepage. Committee on the Political Economy of the Good Society The national offices of the Committee on the Political Economy of the Good Society ("PEGS") is located in the Department and Professor Stephen Elkin is Chair of the Executive Board. The two other members of the Executive Board also have Department appointments. PEGS is an ideologically diverse non-profit organization that seeks to promote discussion regarding alternative political-economic theories and new institutional designs. By encouraging the development of practical visions of the good society, PEGS is attempting to create the theoretical foundations necessary for the restructuring of political-economic systems and the institutions to promote the values of liberty, democracy, equality and environmental sustainability. The PEGS journal, The Good Society, is published with the assistance of graduate students interested in political economy. In addition, PEGS conducts colloquia on relevant topics for faculty and students on the campus. For more information, visit the Committee on the Political Economy of the Good Society website. Comparative Politics Field Workshop The Comparative Politics Workshop is a research workshop for all faculty and graduate students interested in Comparative Politics. The workshop serves as a forum for the presentation of work in progress by advanced graduate students, UMD faculty, and faculty from other universities. Please visit the Workshop's website for an up-to-date workshop schedule. Democracy Collaborative Engaged Scholarship & Informed Practice for a More Democratic World The Democracy Collaborative is an international consortium of leading academic centers, civil society organizations, distinguished scholars and seasoned practitioners. It was created in 2000 as a response to the “democratic deficit” that imperils the world and to the unprecedented opportunities for building democracy in the post-Cold War era. The Collaborative’s founding premise is that while democracy as theory has triumphed over its adversaries, democracy as practice faces daunting challenges in the US and in every region of the world. The global network created by the Collaborative works together to strengthen democracy, employing innovative cross-disciplinary approaches to theoretical and practical research, curricular enhancement, policy development, teaching, training, and community action. A number of professors within the Department of Government and Politics are among the founders of The Democracy Collaborative, including Gar Alperovitz, Benjamin Barber, Stephen Elkin and Linda Williams. For more information, visit the Collaborative’s website at: www.democracycollaborative.org Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda Global environmental change, demographic trends, and the diffusion of technological innovations are rapidly reshaping the international system. Disregarding national borders, these forces are transforming international relations, deepening interdependence, and forging a global system from a world of sovereign states. Creating a more sustainable planet for the next century will require dealing with a wide range of policy issues raised by this rapid acceleration of events. The Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda engages in futures-oriented teaching and research that will contribute to humanity’s ability to anticipate and deal effectively with these important currents of change. Global trends suggest both promise and peril. Sharpening differences between rich and poor have shifted the axis of international conflict from East-West to North-South. Rapid population growth and environmental degradation threaten to perpetuate the cycle of disease and poverty in the world’s poorer countries, many of which are also burdened by problems of debt, social conflict, and political instability. Wealthier countries are distracted by their own problems and authority crises, intensified by increasing integration into the global economy and the aging of their populations. On a more positive note, a fundamental trend is now discernible which bears the potential to change the predominant notion of progress from one that emphasizes quantitative growth to one that values qualitative human growth informed by a growing concern for long-term sustainability. The Harrison Program examines these significant issues in an effort to understand the nature and interaction of environmental, technological, social, and political systems, and to suggest potential means of breaking out of destructive patterns of behavior. To this end, faculty develop new and innovative educational materials, conduct scholarly research, and organize conferences and workshops that bring together scientists, social theorists, advocates, and policy makers to examine key components of the future global agenda.Visit the Harrison Home Page for more information. International Relations Field Workshop Maryland Collective Choice Center The Maryland Collective Choice Center coordinates and sponsors both educational and research efforts in the field of collective choice. These efforts include seminars, conferences, workshops and courses at the Ph.D. level. The field of collective choice, also called formal theory and public choice, uses theories of individual rational choice behavior to study non-market phenomena. Professor Joe Oppenheimer is the Director of the Center. The following faculty are members of the Center: From the Department of Government and Politics: Douglas Grob, David Lalman, Mark Lichbach, Joe Oppenheimer, Karol Soltan, Piotr Swistak. From the Department of Economics: Larry Ausubel, Peter Coughlin, Peter Crampton, Allan Drazen, Peter Murrell, Francisco Rodriguez, Thomas Schelling, John Wallis. Visit the UMCCC Home Page for more information. Political Philosophy/Theory Workshop The Political Philosophy/Theory Workshop within our department serves as a forum for the presentations of work in progress by advanced graduate students, as well as University of Maryland faculty. Program on Global Security and Disarmament The Program on Global Security and Disarmament (PGSD) is based in the Department of Government and Politics, at the University of Maryland. PGSD is an integrated program of research, analysis, international networking, training and public education. The program focuses on increasing the understanding of issues in global security, including the concept of general disarmament, both in the academic community and the general public. Project ICONS The International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project is an interdisciplinary effort that uses computer simulation techniques to teach international negotiation. ICONS focuses on the ways foreign policies are developed and negotiated, and its aim is to help students better understand the interdependence of international issues and the complexities of intercultural communication. Professor Jonathan Wilkenfeld is the Director of Project ICONS. Participants assume the roles of foreign policy makers and negotiate through teleconferencing on behalf of the nations they represent, grappling with such problems as the international debt crisis, human rights violations, north-south relations and development issues, arms control, the balance of trade, and global environmental concerns. ICONS was begun as a tool to enable students to grasp the complexities of international relations. ICONS has now grown to include nearly 2,000 students each year at universities and high schools throughout the United States, and in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Visit the ICONS Home Page for more information. Public Service Fellowship Program The Public Service Fellowship Program combines academic studies with work experiences in the public sector. Most Fellows spend the Fall semester on campus in course work and undertake the work experience off campus in the Spring semester. In some cases the work experience can be spread over the Fall and Spring semesters. Most Fellows will be placed with agencies of the Maryland State government. Others may be assigned to local of regional organizations, including governmental agencies, interest groups, and political parties, as opportunities arise. Fellows receive the same stipend and tuition remission as graduate teaching assistants.Professor Vincent Marando serves as the director of the program. Students interested in applying for the Public Service Fellowship Program should complete the regular application form as well as a special application. Applications must be received by February 1. For application materials or for additional information, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Department of Government & Politics 3140 Tydings Hall, College Park, MD 20742