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Marie Mendras publishes « Russian Politics:The Paradox of a Weak State »

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Russian Politics: The Paradox of a Weak State
Marie Mendras
Hurst, May 2012

What has become of the Russian state twenty years after the collapse of Communism? Why have the rulers and the ruled turned away from democratic institutions and the rule of law? What explains the Putin regime’s often uncooperative policies towards Europe and its difficult relations with the rest of the world? These are among the key issues discussed in this essential book on contemporary Russia by Marie Mendras, France’s leading scholar on the subject.

Mendras provides an original and incisive analysis of Russia’s political system since Gorbachev’s perestroika. Contrary to conventional thinking, she contends that today the Russian state is weak and ineffective. Vladimir Putin has dismantled and undermined most public institutions, and has consolidated a patronage system of rule. The Medvedev presidency is but one chapter in the story. More information

‘A brilliantly textured portrait and fiercely argued exposé of the troubled and troubling political condition of Putin’s Russia.  Paradoxically, as Mendras lucidly explains, the Russian state abuses its citizens precisely because it is too weak to control itself. … the most stimulating work yet published on the origins and evolution of post-communist Russian politics.’ — Stephen Holmes, Walter E. Meyer Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

Marie Mendras is a political scientist in the field of Russian and post-Soviet studies. She is a research fellow with the CNRS and CERI, and a professor at Sciences Po University’s School of International Affairs in Paris.
She is on the editorial board of journals Esprit (Paris) and Pro et Contra (Moscow) and is a member of the EU-Russia Centre in Brussels.

The European Research Council has awarded an ERC Advanced Grant to Paul-André Rosental

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The European Research Council has awarded an ERC Advanced Grant to Paul-André Rosental for his research project « SILICOSIS – From Silicosis to Chronic Respiratory diseases: An approach via Epidemiological History (in France, Europe, Southern Africa, from the 1900s until today) ».

ERC Advanced Grants allow exceptional established research leaders of any nationality and any age to pursue ground-breaking, high-risk projects that open new directions in their respective research fields or other domains.
This project deals with silicosis, a pathology caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust and the deadly occupational disease in history. Contrary to what some may think, it does not belong to a remote past as it struck massively in the 20th century and is still present in industrial societies, and is growing in emerging countries.
The SILICOSIS project seeks to re-evaluate the epidemiological importance of silicosis by combining history, social science and public health. Indeed, its medical definition was literally, and minimally, bargained in the 1930s by employers and unions and States under the aegis of International Labour Organization. This truncated basis has continued to have its effects and led to a massive underreporting of the cases of silicosis, many of which were declared as tuberculosis. In this view, SILICOSIS will aim, first, at a rereading of the 20th century epidemiology of silicosis and tuberculosis from a transnational perspective by comparing European and Southern African mining fields, two regions particularly hit. It will also aim at analysing the real magnitude of silicosis today, mainly in the non mining sector, by questioning contemporary medical classifications.
By combining history and social science with scientific knowledge drawn from pneumology, SILICOSIS will show to what extent a series of other chronic inflammatory diseases (sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis and some others) is likely to be caused, at least in part, by the inhalation of silica dust. Last but not least, SILICOSIS hopes to contribute to a better prevention and awareness of dangers of inhalation of silica dust outside the mining sector, as for instance in the building industry or founderies.
In order to fulfil these objectives, SILICOSIS will propose an innovative approach through the combined methods of history, medicine and quantitative social science on the basis of the most advanced techniques of lung tissues analysis, an approach that will be repeatable on other occupational and environmental diseases.

Paul-André Rosental is an historian, Professor at Sciences Po, researcher at the Centre d’études européennes and Centre d’histoire and associate researcher at INED. He runs the Esopp team which has a joint Sciences Po & EHESS research seminar.
Together with Paul-André Rosental, the SILICOSIS research team is composed of a sociologist, a pneumologist, a post-doctoral researcher and a scientific assistant.

Christophe Jaffrelot & al. publish « Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation »

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Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation
Edited by Laurent Gayer and Christophe Jaffrelot
May, 2012

Numbering more than 150 million, Muslims constitute the largest minority in India, yet they suffer the most politically and socioeconomically. Forced to contend with severe and persistent prejudice, India’s Muslims are often targets of violence and collective acts of murder.

While the quality of Muslim life may lag behind that of Hindus nationally, local and inclusive cultures have been resilient in the south and the east. Within India’s cities, however, the challenges Muslims face can be harder to read. In the Hindi belt and in the north, Muslims have known less peace, especially in the riot-prone areas of Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Aligarh, and in the capitals of former Muslim states—Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Lucknow. These cities are rife with Muslim ghettos and slums. However, self-segregation has also played a part in forming Muslim enclaves, such as in Delhi and Aligarh, where traditional elites and a new Muslim middle class have regrouped for physical and cultural protection. More information.

Christophe Jaffrelot is CNRS research director at CERI where he served as director from 2000 to 2008 and teaches South Asian politics and history, Arguably one of the world’s most respected writers on Indian society and politics, he has published many works, including The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics, 1925 to the 1990s; India’s Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India; and Dr. Ambedkar and Untouchability: Fighting the Indian Caste System. See his publications.

Olivier Rozenberg & al. publish « The Roles and Function of Parliamentary Questions »

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The Roles and Function of Parliamentary Questions
Edited by Shane Martin & Olivier Rozenberg
Published April 5th 2012 by Routledge

Parliamentary questions are a feature of almost all national legislatures. Despite this, we know very little about how questions are used by MPs and what impact questions have on controlling the government. This volume advances our theoretical and empirical knowledge of the use of questioning in a number of different parliamentary settings. The propensity of parliamentarians to ask questions indicates that the interrogatories are an important tool for measuring an individual legislator’s job. Ultimately, how a parliamentarian chooses to use the questioning tool provides a unique insight into legislator behaviour and role orientation. Many of the chapters in this volume provide new empirical measures of legislator activity and use this data to provide new tests of leading theories of legislator behaviour. More information.

Olivier Rozenberg is Associate Research Professor at the Centre for European Studies. His research focuses on the study of political institutions and particularly of legislatures in Europe (national parliaments and the European Parliament). Within this framework, he studies both the sociology of legislators and the policy analysis of parliamentary activities. He is also interested in the Europeanisation of national political systems and the politicisation of European affairs.

Sciences Po’s academic community pays homage to Richard Descoings

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Sciences Po’s academic community pays homage to Richard Descoings

It is with immense sadness that Sciences Po’s research community learned of the untimely death of Richard Descoings.

He worked continually throughout his 16 years at the head of the FNSP and IEP to consolidate, enlarge and internationalise our community, which now numbers more than 200.

Today we pay homage to Richard Descoings, who helped to transform Sciences Po into a university of true international stature. We salute the very high ambitions that he had for research at Sciences Po and the profound innovations that he introduced regarding the recruitment of students and the working conditions of the academic community, as well as his courage and perseverance in fully implementing these reforms. The full extent of his accomplishments will become clear in time. For now, we – the heads of Sciences Po’s departments and research centres – wish to express our gratitude for his work and to mark our deep attachment to his achievements.

The directors of the research centres and departments at Sciences Po :
Alain Chenu, Renaud Dehousse, Alain Dieckhoff, Christophe Jamin, Marc Lazar, Christian Lequesne, Laurent Lesnard, Philippe Martin, Christine Musselin, Marco Oberti, Pascal Perrineau, Jean-François Sirinelli and Philippe Weil.

Sciences Po is seeking to appoint an Assistant Professor in Sociology

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The Department of Sociology in association with the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP), the Centre for the Sociology of Organizations (CSO), and the Observatory for Social Change (OSC) is seeking to appoint an Assistant Professor in Sociology from 1 Sept. 2012, or as soon as possible thereafter.
The successful applicant will have an excellent research profile in sociology and in public policies analysis. He or She will have to demonstrate a real interest for interdisciplinary dialogue and international comparison. He or She will teach on graduate and undergraduate programmes, and will be expected to assume a role in the further development of sociological research and teaching at Sciences Po.
See the job description.
Deadline for Application: 31 March 2012

Elections 2012 – Suivez la recherche de Sciences Po en temps réel – Keep up with Sciences Po’s research in real time

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Découvrez « Elections 2012 » le site et la page Facebook qui regroupent toutes les analyses, les enquêtes et les outils développés par la recherche de Sciences Po : enjeux électoraux, politiques publiques, sondages…

Check out Sciences Po’s « Elections 2012 » website and Facebook page, which pull together all the election-year analysis, studies and tools developed by our researchers, including discussion of the key issues, polls and many other items.

Faculty job opening for an assistant professor in political or social sciences

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The Interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP) and the Centre d’études européennes (CEE) at Sciences Po are seeking strong candidates with a background in the social sciences and an interest in public policy evaluation. We invite applications from a wide range of fields, including, inter alia, environmental policy, social policy, urban policy, immigration policy, foreign policy or the public perceptions of policies.
Candidates will have to demonstrate an interest in interdisciplinary dialogue and in international comparison.

See the job description. Deadline for application : 31 March 2012

The International Encyclopedia of Political Science published by B.Badie & al. has been awarded

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The International Encyclopedia of Political Science published by Bertand Badie, Dirk Berg-Schlosser and Leonardo Morlino (eds.) has been awarded an Honorable Mention for the Dartmouth Medal. Established in 1974, this medal honors the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality and significance. Dartmouth Medal Honorable Mention certificates may also be presented. More information about the Dartmouth Medal.

About the Encyclopedia : With entries from leading international scholars from around the world, the International Encyclopedia of Political Science provides a definitive, comprehensive picture of all aspects of political life, recognizing its theoretical foundations and including empirical findings from across the globe. The eight volumes examine all the main subdisciplines of political science and include coverage of comparative politics, epistemology, political economy, political sociology, and international relations.  Readers will find theoretical and empirical background on other important issues such as global security, the relationship between religion and the state, and political issues related to gender and race/ethnicity. The International Encyclopedia of Political Science provides an essential, authoritative guide to the state of political science at the start of the 21st century and for decades to come, making it an invaluable resource for a global readership, including researchers, students, citizens, and policy makers. The Encyclopedia is available on-line

A number of contributors are researchers or professors at Sciences Po.
Bertrand Badie holds graduate degrees from Sciences Po, the Institut des Langues Orientales and the University of Paris I. Ph.D. in political science from Sciences Po (1975); Full Professor (Professeur agrégé) of political science since 1982. He was director of the Presses de Sciences Po from 1994 to 2003; director of the Rotary Center for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution at Sciences Po between 2001 and 2005. Currently, he is the head of the Research Master’s in International Relations and of the Doctoral Program in Political Science of International Relations at Sciences Po.