Igor Kolesnikov Wins APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant

Published by Apolonia Preciado | Sep 25, 2026

Igor Kolesnikov won an APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant for his project, “Surviving the Commons: Property Regimes and Political Control.” Congratulations Igor!

Upcoming Events

Oct 23, 2026

Indispensable but Invisible: Legal Expertise and Juridical Capital in the Governance of Late Imperial China | Lecture by Li Chen

During the Qing period (1644–1912), late imperial China was in theory governed by approximately two thousand local administrators who were appointed for their mastery of the Confucian classics rather than for their administrative or legal expertise. How did these scholar-officials actually carry out the daily tasks of local governance, including judicial administration? Based on a forthcoming monograph, this talk analyzes the training and roles of the thousands of legal specialists who advised local officials behind the scenes and handled most of the judicial and other substantive administrative work on their behalf. Despite their important functions in local governance, these legal..

Oct 30, 2026

California and the 2026 Midterms: Pre-Election Roundtable

Join the Citrin Center and the Institute for Governmental Studies at the Social Sciences Matrix on Friday, October 30th at 3:30pm for "California and the 2026 Midterms: A Pre-Election Roundtable on the State of the Electorate". This panel event will feature a presentation by Berkeley IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo on the latest round of statewide election-related data, conducted in partnership with the LA Times, followed by a moderated discussion with a panel of experts on the results. The discussion will cover the race for governor between Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, prominent statewide ballot measures including Proposition 39 (Voter..

Nov 02, 2026

The Rise and Fall of Tunisian Democracy: Populism, Polarization, and the Perils of Power-Sharing

The Rise and Fall of Tunisian Democracy: Populism, Polarization, and the Perils of Power-Sharing (Cambridge University Press, 2026) examines the politics of Tunisia after the Arab Spring. Tunisia emerged as the one success story to transition to democracy, winning a Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 for its focus on inclusion and power-sharing. How, then, did its democracy collapse in 2021?

Political Science in the News

Political Science in the News

Igor Kolesnikov Wins APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant

Fireside chat: Inside CalPERS

Indispensable but Invisible: Legal Expertise and Juridical Capital in the Governance of Late Imperial China | Lecture by Li Chen

California and the 2026 Midterms: Pre-Election Roundtable

The Rise and Fall of Tunisian Democracy: Populism, Polarization, and the Perils of Power-Sharing

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