Political Systems and Governance
Political Systems and Governance is a research topic within Political Science and International Relations. Science Explorer counts 15k research works in it since 1950. 26.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the dynamics of intergovernmental relations, decentralization, and territorial politics within multinational federations. It delves into topics such as national identity, secessionism, collaborative federalism, constitutional change, and the political implications of devolution. The focus is on understanding the complexities and challenges of governance in diverse and multi-level political systems.
- Intergovernmental Relations
- Multinational Federations
- Decentralization
- National Identity
- Secessionism
- Constitutional Change
- Collaborative Federalism
- Territorial Politics
- Devolution
- Political Dynamics
- Research works
- 15k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 4k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 26.1% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- -4% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Political Systems and Governance research?
By volume, the United Kingdom and the United States publish the most (236 and 221 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United Kingdom 236 works
- 2 United States 221 works
- 3 Germany 168 works
- 4 Spain 131 works
- 5 Canada 124 works
- 6 France 97 works
- 7 Australia 79 works
- 8 Italy 72 works
- 9 Belgium 52 works
- 10 Russia 42 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.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Political Systems and Governance research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Cardiff University publishes the most Political Systems and Governance research, followed by University of Edinburgh and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Cardiff UniversityUnited Kingdom 18 works
- 2 University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom 18 works
- 3 Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaSpain 14 works
- 4 University of OttawaCanada 11 works
- 5 University of TorontoCanada 11 works
- 6 European University InstituteItaly 11 works
- 7 Universitat de BarcelonaSpain 10 works
- 8 Australian National UniversityAustralia 10 works
- 9 Universitat Pompeu FabraSpain 9 works
- 10 The University of MelbourneAustralia 9 works
Who are the leading researchers in Political Systems and Governance?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Political Systems and Governance include Charles Tilly and Michael J. Keating.
- 1 Charles Tilly United States 3.7k citations
- 2 Michael J. Keating United States 1.9k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Political Systems and Governance research done?
The largest centres of Political Systems and Governance research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Paris (France), Moscow (Russia) and Madrid (Spain). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- CardiffGB · 20.1 works21×
- EdinburghGB · 20.6 works9.9×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Political Systems and Governance than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Political Systems and Governance?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Lausanne, Leiden University and University of Edinburgh 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.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of LausanneSwitzerland | 73.4 | 46.0% | 14.4× | 8 | +239.5% |
| 2 | Leiden UniversityNetherlands | 66.0 | 53.0% | 14.7× | 8 | +56.2% |
| 3 | University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom | 65.4 | 32.7% | 14.1× | 18 | -12.7% |
| 4 | Cardiff UniversityUnited Kingdom | 63.3 | 21.1% | 27.3× | 18 | +60.3% |
| 5 | European University InstituteItaly | 62.4 | 43.8% | 84.4× | 11 | +39.5% |
| 6 | Australian National UniversityAustralia | 58.8 | 43.6% | 11.8× | 10 | +28.9% |
| 7 | University of OttawaCanada | 52.1 | 29.7% | 12.6× | 11 | +34.0% |
| 8 | Universitat Pompeu FabraSpain | 49.8 | 35.3% | 35.5× | 9 | -9.2% |
| 9 | Universitat de BarcelonaSpain | 48.3 | 22.9% | 10.9× | 10 | +71.2% |
| 10 | Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaSpain | 43.5 | 8.3% | 19.5× | 14 | +16.9% |
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 Systems and Governance research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 4% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2020. The fastest-growing topics are Political Systems and Governance.
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.