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The following is a list of notable political scientists. Political science is the scientific study of politics, a social science dealing with systems of governance and power.
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Robert Abelson – Yale University psychologist and political scientist with special interests in statistics and logic
Henry J. Abraham – American scholar on the judiciary and constitutional law and James Hart Professor of Government Emeritus at the University of Virginia
Alan Abramowitz – expert in American politics, political parties, ideological realignment, elections, and voting behavior; professor at Emory University
Paul R. Abramson – American political scientist known for his research and writing on American, European, and Israeli elections and professor of political science at Michigan State University
John R. Alford – political science professor at Rice University who researches genopolitics
Hayward Alker – professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, MIT and Yale who specialized in research methods, core international relations theory, international politics, and security
Danielle Allen – American classicist and political scientist
Karen Alter – American academic who conducts interdisciplinary work on international law's influence in international and domestic politics
Scott Althaus – professor of political science and communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the director of the Cline Center for Advanced Social Research at the university
Micah Altman – American social scientist who conducts research in social science informatics
R. Michael Alvarez – professor of political science at California Institute of Technology and co-director of the Voting Technology Project
William Antholis – Greek-American political scientist, director and CEO of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia
David Apter – American political scientist and sociologist; Henry J. Heinz Professor of Comparative Political and Social Development and senior research scientist at Yale University
Asher Arian – American and Israeli political scientist; expert on politics of Israel and election studies
Hadley Arkes – American political scientist and the Edward N. Ney Professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions emeritus at Amherst College
John Alexander Armstrong – professor emeritus of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Larry Arnhart – Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northern Illinois University
Richard Ashcraft – American political theorist and professor of political science at UCLA
Herb Asher – professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University
Richard K. Ashley – postmodernist scholar of international relations
Ronald Asmus – diplomat and political analyst and then senior think tank policy analyst
Scott Atran – American-French political and cultural anthropologist
Simion Bărnuţiu – noted for his work on political strategy in Austria and Romania
Bethany Barratt – political scientist researching global human rights and ethics in international relations; works at Roosevelt University
Matt A. Barreto – professor at UCLA focusing on Latino political behavior, voting rights, and public opinion; co-founded the UCLA Voting Rights Project
David M. Barrett – professor at Villanova University specializing in U.S. intelligence and foreign policy during the Cold War
Stephen Baskerville – scholar examining political aspects of family law and its social impact, including custody and divorce systems
Amrita Basu – professor at Amherst College specializing in South Asian politics and feminist movements, known for works like Violent Conjunctures in Democratic India
Robert Bates – Harvard professor focusing on comparative politics and African development, notable for his analysis of political institutions and agricultural policy
Frank Baumgartner – political scientist at UNC-Chapel Hill, known for research on policy processes and agenda-setting theories, such as co-authoring Agendas and Instability in American Politics
Phineas Baxandall – scholar with research interests in public finance and transportation policy, contributing to governmental budgeting practices
David H. Bayley – criminologist at SUNY Albany known for studies on policing and international criminal justice reform
Elmira Bayrasli – expert on global entrepreneurship and innovation, co-founder of Foreign Policy Interrupted, and author of From the Other Side of the World
Robert J. Beck – professor focusing on international law and the use of force, contributing to legal and ethical debates in global politics
Holmes Beckwith (1884–1921) – economist and academic specializing in fiscal policy and public finance, known for his contributions to economic theory
Francis Beer – political scientist who received his M.A. from Berkeley and A.B. from Harvard; explored language and metaphors in international relations, and their role in conflict and peace
Samuel Beer (1911–2009) – Harvard professor specializing in British politics and federalism, focused mainly on comparative political studies
Edward Beiser – constitutional scholar and law professor at Brown University, recognized for his work in medical ethics
Linda Royster Beito – professor and dean at Stillman College, co-author of T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, and Civil Rights Pioneer
Charles Beitz – political theorist at Princeton University, known for contributions to international justice and human rights theory
Adolphus G. Belk Jr. – professor at Winthrop University specializing in African American politics, public policy, and race relations
Aaron Belkin – political scientist focusing on gender, sexuality, and military policy, particularly through his work on LGBT rights in the military
Alon Ben-Meir – Middle East expert, advocating for peace and conflict resolution, with extensive writings on Arab-Israeli relations
Daniel Benjamin – diplomat and academic expert in counterterrorism, serving as the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism 2009–2012
Linda L. M. Bennett – American political scientist and former president of Indiana University; focused on higher education policy and university administration
W. Lance Bennett – professor at the University of Washington, specializing in political communication and civic engagement, and author of influential works on digital media's role in democracy
William Benoit – scholar in communication studies, developed the functional theory of political campaign discourse and has published extensively on political communication
Myriam Benraad – French political scientist focusing on Middle Eastern politics, with expertise in jihadism and political violence in Iraq
Richard Bensel – political scientist at Cornell University known for his work on the political economy of the United States and historical institutionalism
Arthur F. Bentley (1870–1957) – American political philosopher who emphasized group theory in political science, author of The Process of Government
Suzanne Berger – professor at MIT, specializing in comparative politics and industrial policy, with influential research on globalization's effects on economies
Adam Berinsky – political science professor at MIT, focusing on political behavior and public opinion, particularly in misinformation and media influence
Peter Berkowitz – scholar in political theory, specializing in liberalism and constitutional law; senior fellow at the Hoover Institution
Ilan Berman – vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, focusing on security and geopolitical issues, particularly in the Middle East and Iran
Marshall Berman – philosopher and Marxist humanist, known for his work All That Is Solid Melts into Air, exploring modernity and urban culture
Sheri Berman – professor at Barnard College, focusing on European politics, democracy, and the role of political parties in societal transformation
Nancy Bermeo – political scientist at Princeton University, her research delves into democratization, political violence, and inequality
William D. Berry – professor at Florida State University, renowned for his contributions to quantitative political methodology
Michele Betsill – political scientist specializing in environmental governance and climate change policy, based at Colorado State University
Richard K. Betts – prize-winning author in a number of political science areas
Seweryn Bialer (1926–2019) – political scientist specializing in Soviet and Russian studies; professor at Columbia University; published seminal works on Soviet political elites, including Stalin's Successors (1980) and The Soviet Paradox (1986)
Thomas J. Biersteker – professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Biersteker is known for his work on international political economy, particularly regarding the impact of international sanctions on state behavior
Leonard Binder – professor at the University of Chicago; known for his studies on Middle Eastern politics, especially in Egypt, and his influential work The Ideology of Arab Politics
Sarah Binder – professor at George Washington University; recognized for her research on legislative politics, including U.S. Congress; has published on political parties, policymaking, and gridlock
Thomas A. Birkland – professor at North Carolina State University; known for his work on public policy, mainly the study of disaster policy and how crises affect policy decisions; author of Lessons of Disaster
Rachel Bitecofer – political scientist specializing in American elections; known for her work on voter behavior and political forecasting
Earl Black – political scientist at Rice University; focuses on Southern politics and American political behavior, contributing extensively to studies of party systems and electoral trends
Merle Black – political scientist with a focus on American politics and the South; known for his research on political realignment and public opinion
Chris Blattman – professor at the University of Chicago; studies global conflict, poverty, and violence, focusing on developing countries like Uganda and Colombia
Hans T. Blokland – author of Freedom and Culture in Western Society and Modernization and its Political Consequences
Lincoln P. Bloomfield – professor emeritus who contributed to American foreign policy analysis and conflict resolution studies
Virgil Blum – political scientist known for his contributions to international relations and U.S. foreign policy studies
Mark Blyth – professor at Brown University; specializes in political economy and macroeconomics, particularly on the influence of finance
Lawrence Bobo – professor at Harvard University; focuses on race, ethnicity, and American political behavior, particularly the intersection of race and politics in the U.S.
Alan Bock – journalist and political commentator known for his work on U.S. politics and foreign policy
Sophie Body-Gendrot – French political scientist with expertise in urban violence and public policy in cities
Vernon Bogdanor – British political scientist at King's College London, known for his work on British politics, the constitution, and public administration
B. Anthony Bogues – professor at Brown University; works on issues of race, empire, and political theory, focusing on the Caribbean and its global context
Laurie Brand – specializes in Middle Eastern politics and international relations, particularly issues related to state sovereignty and political economy
Paul Brass – scholar of comparative politics, focusing on ethnic politics, political violence, and Indian politics
George Catlin (1896–1979) – English political scientist and philosopher; strong proponent of Anglo-America cooperation; worked for many years as a professor at Cornell University
Walter C. Clemens – associate at Harvard Davis Center for Russian and European Studies and professor emeritus of Political Science, Boston University, author of books on US relations with Russia, China and North Korea, and science and world affairs
Edvin Kanka Ćudić – Bosnian political scientist and human rights activist, founder and coordinator of UDIK in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Alison Dagnes – American specialist in politics and the media, politics and humor, and political scandal
Robert A. Dahl – American politics specialist, author of On Democracy
Rafaela Dancygier – expert in comparative politics, especially the implications of ethnic diversity in democracies; IBM Chair of International Studies at Princeton University
Vera Micheles Dean – Russian American political scientist, former head of research for the Foreign Policy Association, and leading international affairs authority in the 1940s and 1950s
Ronald Deibert – Canadian political scientist and founder and director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto
Daniel Deudney – writer and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University; author of Bounding Power: Republican Security Theory from the Polis to the Global Village
Karl Deutsch – political scientist, focused on political communication
Michelle Dion – professor in the department of political science and the Senator William McMaster Chair of Gender and Methodology at McMaster University
James D. Fearon – American political scientist focusing on theory of civil wars, international bargaining, war's inefficiency puzzle and audience costs
Stephen D. Krasner – international regimes author, director of Policy Planning under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and professor at Stanford University
Enid Lakeman – British political reformer, writer and politician, noted for her long-standing championship of the single transferable vote system of elections
Harold Lasswell – political communications, pioneered early efforts to establish the policy sciences and influential contributor to the stages heuristic
Adria Lawrence – American political scientist and the Aronson Associate Professor of International Studies and Political Science at Johns Hopkins University
Amy E. Lerman – scholar of public opinion, race, and political behaviour; Michelle Schwartz Professor of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley
Carl Levy – Goldsmiths College, University of London
Michael Lewis-Beck – American political scientist, scholar of comparative politics, political forecasting, and political methodology, F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa
Amanda Murdie – Georgia Athletic Association Professor of International Affairs, University of Georgia; expert in the behavior of international nongovernmental organisations and their interactions with states, local populations, and intergovernmental organizations
Diana Mutz – Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; director of the Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics
Julie Novkov – American political scientist at SUNY Albany studying the history of American law, American political development, and subordinated identities
Joseph Nye – "soft power" international security specialist; Kennedy School dean
Jewel Prestage – first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in political science, former dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University
Vicky Randall – scholar of political science and gender
Mahesh Rangarajan – Indian political analyst and researcher with a focus on contemporary Indian politics and the politics of wildlife conservation in India
Arius Raposas - Filipino political science, international relations, and public administration scholar
Gary D. RawnsleyFRSA – British political scientist whose research is located at the intersection of international relations and international communication.
Dan Reiter – political scientist, specialized on military conflicts and war; professor at Emory University; author of How Wars End
R. A. W. Rhodes – public administration scholar, pioneer of the study of policy networks in British government
Giovanni Sartori – comparativist, expert on constitutional theory and party systems
E.E. Schattschneider – early political parties expert, author of Party Government and The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America
Warner R. Schilling – specialist in international relations and military technology
Kay Lehman Schlozman – J. Joseph Moakley Professor of political science at Boston College; expert in American political participation and gender and politics
Allison Stanger – American political scientist and the Russell J. Leng '60 Professor of International Politics and Economics at Middlebury College
Michael Steed – British political scientist, developed the concept of "Steed swing" as distinct from "Butler swing"
Alfred Stepan – comparativist, Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government at Columbia University
Zeev Sternhell – theorist, political historian of political ideology
John G. Stoessinger – international relations theorist, author of The Might of Nations: World Politics in our Time
Donald E. Stokes – former dean of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton; expert on elections
Susan Stokes – Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor in the Political Science department of the University of Chicago and the faculty director of the Chicago Center on Democracy
Eric Voegelin – in his major work, Order and History in five volumes, he rejected the notion that political science should become a positivistic social science
Arnold Wolfers – international relations scholar, classical realism
Elisabeth Jean Wood – studies sexual violence during war, the emergence of political insurgencies and individuals' participation in them, and democratization
Atilla Yayla – professor of Politics, Political Economy and Political Philosophy at Gazi University in Turkey; president of the Association for Liberal Thinking