Patrick Le Galès, CNRS research director at Sciences Po’s Center for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE), dean of the Urban School and Fellow at the British Academy, has just received the prestigious CNRS silver medal. The distinction recognizes the quality of his research in political science and sociology, as well as his participation in the creation of the CEE, a leading laboratory for the social sciences in Europe, and the creation of Sciences Po’s Urban School three years ago.   

From Brittany to Sciences Po and beyond

Patrick Le Galès left Saint-Brieuc to pursue his studies at Sciences Po with Henri Mendras, whom he joined at Nanterre for his thesis in sociology with Odile Benoit-Guilbot. He was then admitted to the prestigious Nuffield College at Oxford, where he obtained a Master of Letters (MLitt) in political science comparing British centralization and French decentralization. His thesis advisor, the brilliant and non-conformist Vincent Wright, was then one of the first comparative European researchers in public policies and political economy. He became both a friend and mentor. Patrick Le Galès was recruited by the CNRS at Sciences Po Rennes in 1992. He joined Sciences Po and CEVIPOF in 1998, and helped create Sciences Po’s Center for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) in 2008. His comparative work draws on research visits to the European Institute in Florence, King’s College (where he taught for three years), UCLA, Northwestern, Helsinki, the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, the Colejio of Mexico, the University of Sao Paolo and Oxford, his second home, as well as constant exchanges with leading French research centers, especially regional ones.

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Partnerships with international leading institutions take an ever more important role in the strengthening of research at Sciences Po. They enable scientific cooperation and mobility between teachers/researchers and PhD students of the partner institutions.
Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics, Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Columbia, the Max Planck for the study of societies de Cologne are among our main partners.

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Through the long postwar period, crisis was a conjectural phenomenon, exceptional in a normalcy of growth and social progress. Many key concepts of the social sciences – indeed, our understanding of democracy, of embedded markets, of enlightened electorates, benevolent political elites, and problem-solving progressive alliances – seem inapt for understanding the current societal upheaval.

In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, we have witnessed majority alliances breaking down, populism returning on a grand scale both in the Western world and globally, and the new patterns of social mobilization erupting into chaotic and sometimes violent protest. The forces that underpinned the framework of welfare capitalism seem obsolete in the face of financial and political elites that are paradoxically both disconnected from national territory and sometimes in direct alliance with nationalist and populist movements. Politics of resentment, politics of place, and new politics of class interact in ways that we do not yet understand. Perhaps the greatest paradox of all is that neoliberalism has spawned authoritarianism. At the same time, these processes are not at all new, but must be put in the context of the socioeconomic and cultural cleavages produced by the shift to neoliberalism since the 1970s.

The conference addresses the different facets of social destabilization that we observe today. It marks the fifth anniversary of the founding of MaxPo, the Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies. Presentations will analyze different aspects of the overarching phenomenon of social destabilization trying to identify common threats in the diverse developments currently to be observed.

Registration required (Day 1 - 12/01/2018)

Registration required (Day 2 - 13/01/2018)

Detailed programme here

Over the last fifty years, pan-Islamic ties have intensified between South Asia and the Gulf. Gathering together some of the best specialists on the subject, Laurence Louër and Christophe Jaffrelot  (CERI) explore these ideological, educational and spiritual networks in a book entitled Pan Islamic Connections. Transnational Networks between South Asia and the Gulf (Hurst & Co, December 2017). Interview by Miriam Périe


Despite a traditional geographical division establishing a clear cut between the Persian Gulf countries (associated with the Middle East) and the Indian sub-continent (perceived as Asian), these two regions of the globe have been maintaining commercial and cultural links for centuries, that have notably translated into massive migration. In the religious field, which we shall explore through this work, these connections have taken the form of pilgrimage routes that have not only conducted Muslims from South Asia to Mecca, but also to Karbala, Qom and Najaf, for the Shiites. In parallel, religious education networks have developed to form clerics but more generally the religious spirits. Since the 1980s (the period this volume focuses on) these exchanges and interactions have paired up with the intensification of Islamic connections within the framework of the Afghan war and the emergence of transnational networks like al-Qaida.

What are the main historical dynamics that have triggered and are at the heart of the religious connection between the Gulf monarchies, Iran, India and Pakistan?

The transnational dynamic existing between the Gulf countries and South Asia is first and foremost overdetermined, in religious terms, by the rivalry opposing Iran and Saudi Arabia. This rivalry naturally includes the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites, called “sectarianism” in the region. Large South Asian countries—Pakistan, in particular—are for the most part Sunni yet they also have a strong Shiite minority that Iran has tried to use to export its revolution in 1979 and later in the 1980s. Saudis have immediately acted to counter the Iranian influence by supporting activist Sunni groups and by funding madrassas (Qur’anic schools). Some states, Pakistan for instance, have welcomed this Saudi presence, while avoiding to cause an escalation of the sectarian conflict.

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Patrick Le Galès, CNRS Research Professor  at the Centre d’études européennes and Dean of Sciences Po Urban School, has received the 2017, Regional Studies Association Best Paper Award for the journal Territory, Politics, Governance  for his paper  "Neoliberalism and Urban Change: Stretching a Good Idea Too Far?" published in Territory, Politics, Governance, Volume 4, 2016 - Issue 2: The Neoliberal City: Theory, Evidence, Debates

• L'entrée de Sciences Po Paris, 27 rue Saint-Guillame.
  
• New faculty members at Sciences Po 2016-2017. Crédits : Sciences Po
  

Since last fall, Sciences Po’s permanent faculty has welcomed nine new professors and researchers who cover a wide range of disciplines and topics. Their research will enrich our inquiries, knowledge and teaching. Learn more about Jean d’Aspremont, Ghazala Azmat, Anne-Laure Beaussier, Jean-Philippe Cointet, Eberhard Kienle, Stéphanie Latte Abdallah, Annabelle Lever, Laura Morales and Matthias Thiemann.

In Law

Jean d’Aspremont

University professor Jean d’Aspremont has joined the Law School. He holds a doctorate in law from the University of Louvain, has taught at the University of Amsterdam and has acted as counsel in proceedings before the International Court of Justice. He also founded the Manchester International Law Centre, where he held the chair in public international law. Both his theoretical and empirical research focuses on the analysis of this area of law, especially issues related to international organizations, international law, State responsibility, the foundations of law and methodology.

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In Economics

Ghazala Azmat

University professor Ghazala Azmat has joined Sciences Po’s Department of Economics and Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP). Ghazala Azmat holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and has taught at Pompeu Fabra University and Queen Mary University.
As a researcher associated with the Centre for Economic Performance (LSE) and affiliated with the prestigious CEPR, she is an expert on applied and empirical microeconomics. He research especially focuses on issues related to competition, economic incentives, organizational structures, labor economics, education and public economics.


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In History

Stéphanie Latte Abdallah

The historian and political scientist Stéphanie Latte Abdallah, a CNRS research fellow, has joined Sciences Po’s Centre for International Research (CERI). She is an Arabist who previously worked at the French Institute for the Near East, where she focused on the Palestinian Territories. After studying the history of Palestinian refugees, especially women in the camps, she pursued research on gender and feminism in Arab societies, including Islamic feminism. More recently she has explored the issue of borders in Israeli-Palestinian areas, the Israeli-Palestinian prison environment and citizen and alternative mobilizations.

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In computer science

Jean-Philippe Cointet

Jean-Philippe Cointet has joined the médialab as Associate Professor. He is a graduate of the École Polytechnique et des Eaux et Forêts. He completed his PhD at the Complex Systems Institute and started his career at INRA, where he developed textual analysis methods for the social sciences. Some of his research was pursued in partnership with Columbia University’s INCITE center. Because of their methodological nature, his research questions lead him to explore various empirical fields, including the press, scientific communities, social networks, online comments and political discourse

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In political science

Anne-Laure Beaussier

CNRS research fellow Anne-Laure Beaussier has joined Sciences Po’s Centre for the Sociology of Organizations (CSO). Anne-Laure Beaussier holds a PhD from the University of Montpellier and has pursued research at King's College in London. She takes an international comparative approach and uses qualitative methodologies to study the regulation of risks in Europe and health policies in the United States and in Europe. She focuses on health insurance in the United States and access to care and the regulation of medical care quality in Europe.

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Eberhard Kienle

CNRS research director Eberhard Kienle has joined Sciences Po’s Centre for International Research (CERI). After working in Europe (Berlin and London) and the Middle East (Cairo, Beirut), Eberhard Kienle became director of the French Institute of the Near East (IFPO). He studies the political and economic dimensions of Middle Eastern societies. His research on the transformation of political regimes and States in this region and on the upheavals it has experienced since the Arab spring has been influential. He engages broadly by contributing his expertise to public discussions.

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Annabelle Lever

University professor Annabelle Lever has joined CEVIPOF after holding many positions abroad.
She is a political scientist and historian whose research lies at the intersection of contemporary political philosophy and ethics. Her research focuses on public policies, as well as issues related to privacy, gender equality, democracy and security, their understanding and their combination. Finally, she has developed in-depth reflection on voting ethics

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Laura Morales

Political science professor Laura Morales has joined Sciences Po’s Centre for Europe Studies after pursuing research in Spain and in Great Britain. She studies political life, parties and public opinion from a comparative perspective. She also conducts research on immigration policies. As part of a project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) she is currently conducting research on governments’ response to modes of expression mobilized in democracies.

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Matthias Thiemann

Matthias Thiemann has joined Sciences Po’s Centre for European Studies as Assistant Professor. He holds a PhD from Columbia University in New York and was a member of Goethe University in Frankfurt. His research focuses on regulation of the banking system and of financial markets, and particularly interactions between regulation, regulators and the regulated. His other major research area explores systemic risks, such as the landmark 2008 subprime crisis.

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On September 1st 2017, Pierre François became the head of the Doctoral School. He succeeds Jean-Marie Donegani, who is leaving this post but will continue his teaching and research activities at Sciences Po.

Pierre François is a sociologist and CNRS research director at the Center for the Sociology of Organizations (CSO). He served as director of Sciences Po’s department of sociology from 2014 to 2017. His research focuses on the dynamics of the worlds of art – particularly contemporary poetry – and on the sociology of businesses and their leaders. Pierre François teaches in Sciences Po’s masters program as well as the Collège universitaire (undergraduate level), where he teaches the introduction to sociology course. He was a professor of sociology at the École polytechnique between 2009 and 2017. Pierre François aims to enable Sciences Po’s Doctoral School to meet the twin challenges of research internationalization and of the growing scientific and methodological requirements it involves. The major priorities identified for the coming years include:

• Interdisciplinary dialogue in the humanities and social sciences,
• The funding model for doctoral research,
• The international mobility of students and junior researchers,
• The development of institutional partnerships of excellence in France and abroad,
• The professional integration of graduates and recent PhD graduates. 

“The Doctoral School of Sciences Po has a unique position in France and in the world that it is our job to make fruitful by bolstering its international openness and reinforcing the relationship between the masters and doctoral programs and between the training in, and application of research”, emphasizes Sciences Po director Frédéric Mion.

What were the main results of the research at Sciences Po in 2016? What were the publications, projects, recruitments that marked this year 2016? What has happened in terms of referencing scientific publications, open access, dissemination of knowledge, doctoral training, international partnerships, European funding or recruitment strategy? What has been the profound transformation of governance and research architecture at Sciences Po?

Reflections on competition as a social and economic phenomenon, tributes to Elie Halévy, collaborations on Africa in international relations, new works on citizen participation of the most deprived, on state feminism, wage inequalities, urban segregation, attractiveness of political parties, or the history of Mediterranean coasts ecosystems: so much to discover in this new annual report!

Download Annual Report 2016

Edited by  Didier Bigo (CERI,Siences Po) Frédéric Gros (CEVIPOF-Sciences Po) and Philippe Bonditti, Foucault and the Modern International. Silences and Legacies for the Study of World Politics (Palgrave) addresses the possibilities of analyzing the modern international through the thought of Michel Foucault. The broad range of authors brought together in this volume question four of the most self-evident characteristics of our contemporary world-'international', 'neoliberal', 'biopolitical' and 'global'- and thus fill significant gaps in both international and Foucault studies. The chapters discuss what a Foucauldian perspective does or does not offer for understanding international phenomena while also questioning many appropriations of Foucault's work. This transdisciplinary volume will serve as a reference for both scholars and students of international relations, international political sociology, international political economy, political theory/philosophy and critical theory more generally.

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The Scientific Council of Sciences Po is solemnly protests against the situation of academics in Turkey, many of them being victims of a political repression from the goverment, unable to carrying out their teaching and research activities under normal conditions.
The Scientific Council is alarmed by the on-goint threat to academic freedom and recalls that the university is based on an undeniable principle: independence from any political, ideological, economic or religious pressure.
He expresses his solidarity with the Turkish academic community and, together with the Sciences Po administration, participates in the program PAUSE (Program of Assistance to the Emergency Hospitality of Scientists in Exile - Programme d’aide à l’Accueil en Urgence des Scientifiques en Exil) proposed by the French Ministry of Higher Education And Research, which aims to welcome Turkish academics in refugee situations.
 

In an election year full of twists, an overview of our work on elections – a central and foundational research subject at Sciences Po – was in order. This issue sheds light and encourages reflection on topics covering the sociology of the electorate, role of the media, voters’ assessment of polices, confidence in our elected officials and our institutions, electoral conditions beyond our borders, etc.

By presenting our recent notable publications, projects and theses, this second issue of Cogito also tackles other key matters shaping our vision of the future, including the environment, inequalities, urban transformation, state reform, and European vitality.

Focus

• Sciences Po research delves into the elections

In Folio: Recent Publications

• The politics of administrative reorganization
• Israel: reasons for peace
• Stealing to Survive?
• Fraternity versus equality
• When the state champions the cause of women. A historical perspective.
• Competition. Revisiting a social and economic phenomenon
• Measuring inequalities between migrants and nationals

Kick-off: new contracts

• What policies promote home ownership?
• What pathways will lead to decarbonisation?
• Occupational risks under scrutiny
• Will Paris become a green city?
• Urban insecurity, a social issue
• Vulnerability of Knowledge and Nuclear
• The Post-crisis Legitimacy of the European Union
• A new perspective on the Allied war effort during the Second World War

Rising stars: PhD students & young researchers

• Marie Piganiol: The making of urban projects
• Thomas Aguilera : Policies at the margin of cities
  

Unexpected: Odd data

• Tolerance in progress