The Department of Political Science was created in 1986 and it is currently directed by Professor Francesca Zannotti.
Since its foundation, two main streams of research have been represented in the department: the comparative study of political institutions, and the study of organizational behavior and public policy.
The Department of Political Science collaborates with the University of Florence and other universities in supporting the most highly regarded PhD program in political science in Italy.
Currently, the Department of Political Science promotes research in four main areas:
- Organizational behavior (public and private organizations)
- Public policy analysis
- Democratic institutions (including transition to democracy particularly in Latin America)
- Comparative analysis of legal systems in contemporary democracies
In addition, there are three Research Centres which are active within the Department of Political Science. The Centre for the Study of Judicial Institutions (Centro Studi Ricerche sull'Ordinamento Giudiziario – CeSROG). The Centre for Public Policy Analysis (Centro di Analisi delle Politiche Pubbliche – CAPP). The European Centre for the Study of Democratisation (Centro Europeo Studi sulla Democratizzazione –CESDE).
At present the Department of Political Science has 29 full-time academic staff members - of whom 9 are full professors, 13 are associate professors and 7 are assistant professors.
Furthermore, the Department of Political Scienceemploys more than 10 technical assistants as well as a number of part-time research assistants and post-doctoral fellows.