Institute of Political Studies Polish Academy of Sciences

The Institute’s mission is to conduct interdisciplinary studies on social and political changes in the 20th and 21st centuries, with particular emphasis on East-West relations.

The eight departments of the Institute conduct studies focusing on post-communist societies and political transformation in theoretical and empirical terms, as well as from a comparative perspective. Research on political and socio-economic transformation in Poland is also embedded in an in-depth historical reflection on resistance and opposition movements during World War II and the communist era. Interdisciplinary teams of historians and political scientists study Poland’s relations with Germany on the one hand, and with the Soviet Union (later Russia and Ukraine) on the other, both before and after 1989.

The research program is also complemented by a regional perspective on Central and Eastern Europe. Political changes at the regional and global levels are the subject of interest of teams of researchers working on issues of international security and strategic efficiency of the state, European integration, and East Asia. The unit also employs historians of political ideas.

The Institute is authorized to award doctoral and postdoctoral degrees in political science and administration, as well as doctoral degrees in sociology.