Completing a Ph.D. and at the same time establishing a good academic profile are demanding tasks. Most graduates have teaching assignments, need to do their own research, assist senior researchers and hunt for funding. All this already takes up a considerable amount of time, and there are other activities – such as networking, publishing, conference and professional-association participation, and a whole array of others – junior academics need to get involved in so as to build a desirable academic profile. This paper compiles a few professional development suggestions for graduate students embarking on an academic career in political science in Europe.

Two aspects of the training and status of the contemporary Ph.D. process are dealt with. First, I assess the growing importance of the new doctoral programmes in Political Science and suggest that it is now almost impossible to conceive of preparing a Ph.D. outwith a training programme. Second, I look at changing perspectives on doctoral degrees, and at how a Ph.D. has become a necessary but no longer sufficient qualification for successful entry into the academic labour market.

This paper deals with the changes within the profession of political science in Europe. The first part of the paper outlines the emerging integrated academic labour market in Europe and the accompanying process of convergence around shared professional benchmarks. The main observation here is the increasing influence competitive meritocracy has on our profession. The second part of the paper deals with some of the structural barriers European political science faces in such a competitive market. The final part of the paper outlines ways by which to surpass these structural barriers and attain a competitive academic profile while doing a Ph.D. at a typical European university.

When we leave the Ph.D. to embark on an academic career, we soon discover that the strategies for success rely on a range of teaching, research, managerial, and networking skills that we likely did not develop during our doctoral years. This paper compiles advice to new entrants to the profession from established political scientists on some of the general strategies and skills that they identified as being crucial to the development of their academic careers.

A clear majority of Ph.D. students in the United States still aim to enter the domestic job market. Nonetheless, a growing number of graduates choose to teach at universities in other parts of the world. Despite this apparently upward trend toward relocating abroad, few graduate programmes in the United States prepare their students for an academic career outside of the States. Having made the transition from a doctoral programme in the United States to a university position in Europe, I outline what I have learned from my experience in order to provide information for Ph.D.s who are considering an academic career in Europe.

In a search for the ‘good European citizen’, the prevalent views of European Union (EU) policymakers, civil society bodies, and citizens are confronted. The civil society and ordinary citizens are both content with strengthening the position of civil society and not increasing the participatory demands on citizens. Ideas among EU policymakers about civil society as a means to integrate citizens and to close the gap between citizens and the EU are misplaced and incongruent with other images of the ‘good European citizen’.

Denouncing the persistence of nationalist reflexes in order to explain the crisis of European integration is much too simple, as is the critique of a mercantile Europe deprived of solid social and moral foundations. Yet, these interpretations, oversimplified as they are, do point to some aspects of our liberal civilisation, which are under pressure in the current trajectory of developments shaping Europe. Seen as symptoms of a widespread malaise, these perspectives should be taken seriously.

European integration can be seen as a largely ‘liberal’ project. Since its inception, this project has, however, strongly emphasised the features of economic liberalism, neglecting other essential elements of the liberal tradition, including the limitation of political power, the defence of individual freedoms (not only in the economic sphere) and the promotion of life chances for all the members of the polity. The ‘economistic sliding’ of European liberalism is partly responsible for the current malaise of the European Union and should be countered by launching a comprehensive agenda of ‘liberal’ transformation, in the richer and wider sense of the word.

Member-states' ideas and discourse about the European Union's (EU's) ‘liberal project’ vary over whether they envision the EU project as mainly about market, community, rights, or global action. Can these be reconciled? Perhaps, but only if the EU itself is reconceptualised as a ‘regional state’ made up of overlapping policy communities, and reformed to allow graduated membership. This could facilitate enlargement in the periphery plus closer cooperation for an inner core, with democracy enhanced by allowing all members an institutional voice in the areas in which they participate.

This article is part of a research project aimed at analysing the degree of (in)equality between men and women in Spanish universities. Located within this general framework, this paper discusses a series of indicators which refer to the discipline of political science and public administration. Thus, the research includes figures referring to the presence of women and men among undergraduates, postgraduates and university lecturers in the political science and public administration departments and members of both the professional and the academic associations.

The aim of this paper is to explore the complex situation regarding the state of the international relations (IR) discipline in France. The paper analyses the development of IR within French academe, reviews the scholarly output of IR teaching and research institutions and makes proposals that could contribute to improving the situation.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that, contrary to a commonly held view, it is possible to teach the European Union (EU) in a way that makes students enthusiastic about the subject. The paper is informed by my experience of leading a EU simulation module, based on a modified problem-based learning (PBL) approach. The idea is to share my experience and prompt a debate on (1) how the EU can be taught in exciting ways for students, and (2) how an adapted PBL approach in the form of a simulation can significantly help to deepen students’ interest in the EU as a subject.