Home > Department of Government > Department of Government

Address and contacts

Head of Department:

Professor Paul Kelly

Department of Government
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE

General Enquiries

Email: Ariane Sparks
|Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7955 7553
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7955 6352

Departmental Manager: Nicole Boyce
|Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7955 7204

Department of Government

Welcome to the Department of Government, one of the largest political science departments in the UK. Our activities cover a comprehensive range of approaches to the study of politics, including the history of political thought, normative political theory, comparative politics (with expertise on Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America), ethnic conflict, nationalism, political economy, elections and electoral systems, political parties, public opinion, rational choice theory, public administration and public policy. Read more about the Department|...

Photo Simon Hix

 

Choosing an Electoral System

With the prospects of a hung Parliament increasing, the Commons voting for a referendum on changing the current "first past the post" system in 2011, and all three major parties now seemingly committed to a wholly or largely elected House of Lords; a new analysis of the pros and cons of different voting systems could scarcely be timelier.

 

Choosing an Electoral System, co-authored by Professor Simon Hix |of LSE and published on March 10 by the British Academy, identifies the characteristics of the main types of electoral system – and their variations – now used around the world, and discusses their implications for electors and political parties. The outcomes from their application, both in the UK and elsewhere, are used to illustrate their characteristics.

 

Read the article on the LSE website| - 10/3/2010

   
 Photo of Michael Bruter  

Opinium to Run Polls for Express

In the UK, Opinium Research has partnered with the Daily Express newspaper to provide a voting intention poll in the run up to the 2010 General Election.

Poll questions – including propensity to vote for each major party and past vote – will be included in the firm's weekly Omnibus survey, whose sample is drawn from an online panel of over 40,000 UK adults. Opinium's team, advised by Professor Michael Bruter of the London School of Economics, will predict the likely election outcome based on findings.

Read the ful artical from Daily Research News |- Mar 11 2010

     
Student-Experience

The Student Experience

The Student Experience is a video-based website which lets our students tell you about life within the Government Department.

Open The Student Experience|.

     

 GPPN

 

Events

22 March 2010 - 4th Global Public Policy Network Conference|
30 April 2010 -  Justification and Practice in Contemporary Liberalism Conference
|7-8 May 2010 - Brian Barry Memorial Symposium|

 
Hot Seat Logo

The HotSeat

This month's HOTSEAT| sees Dr Nilima Gulrajani discussing the state of development in Haiti after the earthquake. 12/2/2010.

[ Watch| | Listen| | Read |]

 
Dispatch-Box8-cover

Dispatch Box

Edition 8 of the Dispatch Box contains a feature article on the 'Decline of the West?' by Professor David Held, an interview with Bill Kissane, and lots of news about what’s going on in the Government Department.

Read It Now.|

     
 Election Blog    

UK Election Experts blog

Opinion and comment from LSE experts on the British general election

Read it Now.|