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Subfield · Social Sciences

Political Science and International Relations research

Political Science and International Relations is a subfield of Social Sciences. Science Explorer counts 1.6M research works in it since 1950. 17.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: academic discipline.

Research works
1.6M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
283k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
118
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+29%
the tick is no change

What is Political Science and International Relations research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Human Rights, Democracy, Globalization, International Law, European Union, Nationalism. Gaining share since 2009–13: Omnibus Law, Legal Regulation, Sustainable Development, Geopolitics, Legal System. Losing share: Public Opinion, Federalism, Global Governance, Political Economy.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Human Rights100k◆ 1.14×27 topics
  2. Democracy53k◆ 0.95×13 topics
  3. Globalization52k◆ 0.95×17 topics
  4. International Law40k◆ 0.91×14 topics
  5. European Union34k◆ 0.99×10 topics
  6. Nationalism32k◆ 1.02×5 topics
  7. International Relations31k▲ 1.21×17 topics
  8. Governance29k▼ 0.74×8 topics
  9. Political Economy27k▼ 0.67×7 topics
  10. Public Opinion26k▼ 0.62×4 topics
  11. Migration26k▼ 0.84×6 topics
  12. Public Policy24k▲ 1.46×8 topics
  13. Judicial Review23k▼ 0.80×4 topics
  14. Constitutionalism23k◆ 0.87×4 topics
  15. Criminal Justice23k▲ 1.79×5 topics
  16. Conflict22k▲ 1.38×5 topics
  17. Legal System22k▲ 1.86×3 topics
  18. Intellectual Property22k▲ 1.68×4 topics
  19. Latin America22k◆ 0.99×6 topics
  20. Environmental Law21k▲ 1.31×4 topics
  21. Neoliberalism21k◆ 0.88×6 topics
  22. Geopolitics21k▲ 1.91×6 topics
  23. Security20k▲ 1.27×8 topics
  24. Diplomacy20k◆ 1.01×6 topics
  25. Gender Equality18k▲ 1.52×5 topics
  26. Legal Regulation18k▲ 7.2×5 topics
  27. Federalism18k▼ 0.64×4 topics
  28. Economic Development18k◆ 0.95×6 topics
  29. Global Governance17k▼ 0.65×10 topics
  30. Higher Education17k◆ 0.91×3 topics
  31. Gender17k◆ 0.90×2 topics
  32. Soviet Union17k▲ 1.28×3 topics
  33. Sustainable Development17k▲ 2.1×7 topics
  34. Quality Assurance16k◆ 0.93×2 topics
  35. Constitutional Law16k◆ 1.07×5 topics
  36. European Integration16k◆ 0.89×5 topics
  37. Islam15k◆ 1.08×2 topics
  38. Religion15k◆ 0.92×3 topics
  39. Reform15k▼ 0.70×2 topics
  40. Omnibus Law14k▲ 13×1 topic

Which countries lead Political Science and International Relations research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany rank highest in Political Science and International Relations. By volume, the United States and Indonesia publish the most (40k and 37k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 17.2% top 10% · 40k works
  2. 2 United Kingdom · #2 all time 24.3% top 10% · 17k works
  3. 3 Germany · #3 all time 19.2% top 10% · 16k works
  4. 4 China · #8 all time 25.1% top 10% · 8.8k works
  5. 5 Italy · #7 all time 24.3% top 10% · 5.5k works
  6. 6 Netherlands · #4 all time 30.0% top 10% · 3.9k works
  7. 7 Indonesia · #12 all time 13.2% top 10% · 37k works
  8. 8 Australia · #5 all time 22.6% top 10% · 5.4k works
  9. 9 Switzerland · #10 all time 22.4% top 10% · 2.7k works
  10. 10 Canada · #6 all time 19.3% top 10% · 5.7k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 97 countries ranked in Political Science and International Relations. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Political Science and International Relations

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 40k works
  2. 2 Indonesia 37k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 17k works
  4. 4 Russia 16k works
  5. 5 Germany 16k works
  6. 6 Poland 14k works
  7. 7 France 14k works
  8. 8 Türkiye 14k works
  9. 9 Brazil 13k works
  10. 10 China 8.8k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 20.9%Indonesia: 19.4%United Kingdom: 9.1%Russia: 8.7%6 others listed: 41.9%21%largest
United States40k · 20.9%Indonesia37k · 19.4%United Kingdom17k · 9.1%Russia16k · 8.7%6 others listed79k · 41.9%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Political Science and International Relations research?

University of Oxford (United Kingdom) ranks first in Political Science and International Relations on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by European University Institute and London School of Economics and Political Science.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #2 all time 27.2% top 10% · 1k works
  2. 2 European University Institute Italy · Florence · #3 all time 40.5% top 10% · 404 works
  3. 3 London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom · London · #1 all time 30.4% top 10% · 615 works
  4. 4 University of Oslo Norway · Oslo · #15 all time 37.1% top 10% · 483 works
  5. 5 University College London United Kingdom · London · #11 all time 30.1% top 10% · 578 works
  6. 6 Leiden University Netherlands · Leiden · #24 all time 32.0% top 10% · 524 works
  7. 7 University of Amsterdam Netherlands · Amsterdam · #8 all time 34.3% top 10% · 464 works
  8. 8 King's College London United Kingdom · London · #18 all time 26.6% top 10% · 731 works
  9. 9 University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge · #10 all time 20.7% top 10% · 852 works
  10. 10 University of Bologna Italy · Bologna 32.8% top 10% · 369 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 1,201 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Political Science and International Relations.

Top 100 Political Science and International Relations institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Human Growth FoundationUnited States 1.3k works
  2. 2 Jagiellonian UniversityPoland 1.2k works
  3. 3 University of WarsawPoland 1.2k works
  4. 4 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 1k works
  5. 5 Weatherford CollegeUnited States 1k works
  6. 6 University of IndonesiaIndonesia 966 works
  7. 7 Institut Agama Islam Negeri BengkuluIndonesia 908 works
  8. 8 Adam Mickiewicz University in PoznańPoland 878 works
  9. 9 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom 852 works
  10. 10 Moscow State Institute of International RelationsRussia 762 works

Who are the leading researchers in Political Science and International Relations?

Among the most productive authors in Political Science and International Relations, Pierre Bourdıeu, Noam Chomsky and Charles Tilly rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Pierre Bourdıeu France · #2 worldwide 10k citations · 235 works
  2. 2 Noam Chomsky United States · #7 worldwide 3.7k citations · 239 works
  3. 3 Charles Tilly United States · #8 worldwide 3.7k citations · 238 works
  4. 4 Stanley Hoffmann United States · #21 worldwide 2.3k citations · 197 works
  5. 5 Amartya Sen United States · #28 worldwide 4.9k citations · 190 works
  6. 6 Francis Fukuyama United States · #30 worldwide 4.1k citations · 158 works
  7. 7 William Diebold United States · #33 worldwide 3.8k citations · 208 works
  8. 8 Joseph E. Stiglitz United States · #43 worldwide 7.4k citations · 383 works
  9. 9 Niklas Luhmann Germany · #53 worldwide 2.3k citations · 277 works
  10. 10 G. John Ikenberry United States · #57 worldwide 3k citations · 159 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,044 highest-output authors in Political Science and International Relations. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Political Science and International Relations researchers

Where is Political Science and International Relations research done?

The largest centres of Political Science and International Relations research in 2022–2025 are Moscow (Russia), Paris (France), London (United Kingdom) and Jakarta (Indonesia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Bingley, Szczytno and Chatuchak.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Moscow Russia 8.5k works
  2. 2 Paris France 5.2k works
  3. 3 London United Kingdom 4.5k works
  4. 4 Jakarta Indonesia 4.3k works
  5. 5 Warsaw Poland 3.8k works
  6. 6 New York United States 3.5k works
  7. 7 Kyiv Ukraine 3k works
  8. 8 Istanbul Türkiye 2.8k works
  9. 9 Ankara Türkiye 2.6k works
  10. 10 Madrid Spain 2.6k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. BingleyGB · 20.7 works25×
  2. SzczytnoPL · 37.1 works19×
  3. ChatuchakTH · 41.9 works17×
  4. BrühlDE · 45.2 works16×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Political Science and International Relations than the world average.

See Political Science and International Relations on the map

Political Science and International Relations research by country

The best places for Political Science and International Relations research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Political Science and International Relations?

Among universities, judged by research, European University Institute, Moscow State Institute of International Relations and London School of Economics and Political Science score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 18.65%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →European University Institute: 404, 40.5%Moscow State Institute of International Relations: 762, 15.9%London School of Economics and Political Science: 615, 30.4%Ludovika University of Public Service: 416, 13.3%The Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences: 163, 24.4%Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs: 412, 11.3%University of Warsaw: 1,187, 13.4%Kutafin Moscow State Law University: 376, 13.1%Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University: 392, 15.3%John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin: 514, 8.9%European University …London School of Eco…Moscow State Institu…Ludovika University …
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 European University InstituteItaly 68.740.5%17.5×404 +18.7%
2 Moscow State Institute of International RelationsRussia 61.215.9%14.4×762 +125.5%
3 London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom 61.030.4%8.5×615 +7.7%
4 Ludovika University of Public ServiceHungary 58.213.3%12.2×416 +385.1%
5 The Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 56.924.4%28.2×163 +603.9%
6 Kharkiv National University of Internal AffairsUkraine 56.811.3%19.6×412 +958.5%
7 University of WarsawPoland 56.713.4%7.6×1,187 +97.8%
8 Kutafin Moscow State Law UniversityRussia 56.613.1%13.5×376 +596.3%
9 Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli UniversityTürkiye 56.115.3%9.0×392 +3193.9%
10 John Paul II Catholic University of LublinPoland 55.58.9%10.1×514 +176.6%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Political Science and International Relations research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 29% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Indonesian Legal and Regulatory Studies, Education and Public Policy and Polish Historical and Cultural Studies.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Indonesian Legal and Regulatory Studies+1577%
  2. Education and Public Policy+425%
  3. Polish Historical and Cultural Studies+407%
  4. Comparative constitutional jurisprudence studies+188%
  5. Islamic Studies and History+166%
  6. European and International Law Studies+166%
  7. Legal Systems and Judicial Processes-5%
  8. China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance-23%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Political Science and International Relations include?

American Constitutional …81kAmerican Constitutional Law and Politics: 81k fractional worksEuropean and Internation…49kEuropean and International Law Studies: 49k fractional worksSocial Policy and Reform Studies: 44k fractional worksMulticulturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender: 39k fractional worksIslamic Studies and Hist…38kIslamic Studies and History: 38k fractional worksGlobal Peace and Security Dynamics: 37k fractional worksHigher Education Governance and Development: 36k fractional worksInternational Law and Human Rights: 33k fractional worksEuropean history and politics: 30k fractional worksEuropean Union Policy and Governance: 30k fractional worksElectoral Systems and Political Participation: 29k fractional worksPolish Historical and Cultural Studies: 28k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.