Introduction: Current Trends and Challenges for Political Science in Central and Eastern Europe

Introduction: Current Trends and Challenges for Political Science in Central and Eastern Europe

By Joanna Skrzypczyńska, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań and Tatyana Ruseva, Appalachian State University, North Carolina

This Spotlight examines recent transformations in the field of political science in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), ¹ with a particular focus on Poland and Hungary. Recent trends in the political life of these countries provide a meaningful lens for reflection on the relevance of political science for civil society and democratic policy making. These trends further recognize the diverse “ways in which the political world contributes to, and detracts from, our efforts to flourish as individuals and communities” in a region where the discipline of political science has traveled a shifting path from state subordination to rediscovery within an increasingly integrated, internationalized educational system (Schmidt 2019). Arguably, there are important trends and unique challenges for political science scholars and teachers in CEE relative to their counterparts in North America and Western Europe. Our goal for this Spotlight is to highlight these issues.