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Models & Politics

Subfield Coordinator: Sean Gailmard

Formal models are used in political science as abstract representations of political institutions and choices in order to focus attention on key logics and causal mechanisms in a political process. Insightful modeling requires fluency in technical fields such as game theory, as well as the substantive knowledge to craft an appropriate representation of a specific application.

The Models & Politics subfield, instituted by the faculty in 2007, connects advanced training in formal modeling with innovative substantive research in political science. It is designed for students who plan to make significant use of formal modeling in their own research in American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, or Political Theory, as well as those who wish to become “pure” modelers.
 

Models & Politics Directory

Goldman School of Public Policy & Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
Phillips Girgich Professor in Business and Public Policy, Professor of Political Science, and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Economics & Politics
Professor, Vice Chair of the Department for Personnel
Current Status
Teaching