Department of Comparative Politics

The Department of Comparative Politics was set up in December 1998 as one of the two successors to the Department of Political Science established in 1989 at MGIMO University. Initially It was headed by Professor Andrei Melville, the first Dean of the School of Political Science, followed by Professor Andrei Volodin as of September 1999 and then by Professor Mikhail Ilyin from September 2002 to September 2010. Since 2010, Professor Oxana Gaman-Golutvina has been the department’s chair.

The Department of Comparative Politics offers MGIMO students a broad spectrum of courses in comparative politics including core courses that develop a solid theoretical foundation for empirical studies of political institutions and processes at subnational, national and global levels. The Department offers innovative courses with specially tailored teaching methods to practice research skills of applied qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods analysis. Comprehensive training in two foreign languages provides an additional advantage for comparative studies and area studies specializations.

The Department’s faculty consists of professional scholars with diverse expertise in the subfields of comparative politics ranging from political elites (Oxana Gaman-Golutvina) and Politics in Russia (Andranik Migranyan), political institutions (Oxana Kharitonova) and public policy (Alexei Zudin) and public diplomacy (Anna Veretevskaya) to electoral behavior (Evgenia Zakharova), conflict studies (Irina Kudryashova), political transformations (Elena Ponomareva), political geography (Rostislav Turovsky, Marianna Shestakova) and area studies (Sergei Khenkin).

At the Bachelor level, the Department offers two degree programs in Politics i.e. in Public policy and Public diplomacy, In 2023 the department is launching a new program Political systems of the world states.

The bachelor degree program in Public Policy is designed to provide knowledge and skills in the field of public policy management and administration, policy analysis, political communication, strategic planning and forecasting and the bachelor thesis focusing on specialization-related areas of public policy.

The specialization’s majors:

  • Public Policy and Policy Analysis
    Comparative politics
    Political communication
  • Political Management

The bachelor degree program in Public Diplomacy aims to train professionals in the fields of conflict settlement and regulation, national and international security having skills in negotiation, political process management, and public diplomacy both in the time of stability and crisis. The bachelor thesis focuses on specialization-related areas of public diplomacy and political processes.

The specialization’s majors:

  • Public Diplomacy
    Comparative politics
  • Political conflicts
  • Area studies

The bachelor degree program in Political Systems of the World gives students knowledge about political institutions and processes of Western and non-Western countries, giving due consideration to cultural and religious factors; skills in intercultural communication and comparative analysis in the field of area and country studies using quantitative and qualitative methods of comparative analysis.

The specialization’s majors:

  • Comparative politics
    Political systems and political cultures of world countries
  • Politics in the East
    Ethnicity and politics
  • Intercultural communications
    Area studies

Potential careers for the bachelor graduates include the fields of:

  • Policy Analysis
  • Politics
  • Civil Service
  • Journalism
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Government Relations
  • Public Relations
  • Business

At a Master’s level, the Department offers the International Political Consulting program, which is intended to provide interdisciplinary training in political consultancy and expertise, including courses on the complex planning and management of political and related processes at home and internationally. The students gain the skills in political management including risk, media, electoral management, political communications, qualitative and quantitative political research and analysis in comparative politics and international relations.

The specialization’s majors:

  • Political Markets
  • Political communications
    Geoeconomics
    Ethnonational strategies

The potential careers for master students include but not limited to:

  • Political markets: political consultancy agencies; PR- and GR-structures; political parties;
  • Federal and regional government bodies: the State Duma and the Council of Federation, federal ministries and agencies, Office of the President, regional executive and legislative bodies (departments for international relations, information and analysis and public relations);
  • Corporate business (international communications, analytical departments, PR political marketing and management, political risk assessment and corporate management;
  • Think-tanks and research institutions
  • Mass media.

Contacts:
Chair of Comparative Politics Department,
President of the Russian Political Science Association,
Member of RFCivic Chamber, Moscow Civic Chamber and Public Council of the RF Higher Education and Science Ministry,
RAS сorresponding member.
Professor Oxana Gaman-Golutvina
Tel. +7 495 229-41-75
e-mail: politology@mgimo.ru

In order to get additional information on the Master’s program please contact the deputy dean on masters’ programs of the School of Governance and Politics Maria Utkina: utkina.m.f@my.mgimo.ru.

Last update— March 2023

Staff

Oxana Kharitonova

Oxana Kharitonova

Ph.D. in Political Science, Associate Professor

Anna Veretevskaya

Anna Veretevskaya

Ph.D. (Cand. Polit. Sc.)

Head of the department

Department of Comparative Politics

Professor Oksana Gaman-Golutvina, PhD


Contacts

+7 495 229-41-75 (inner 15-01)
Room: 3026
politology@mgimo.ru