These decisions affect all of us, every day, which is why it is important to understand how they are made, and who makes them. 

Political scientists study the people who run governments, the people who make laws and policies, and the sources of their authority. What motivates their decisions? What influences them most? Who impacts government and who doesn't? 

We study presidents and prime ministers, democracies and dictatorships, parties and elections, bureaucracies and interest groups, nongovernmental organizations, political violence, and civil war. We look at the theories that explain political behavior and we study political decisions in fields as diverse as the economy, welfare, the environment, criminal justice, civil rights and liberties, defense, and foreign policy.