David W. Choi, 27, from Princeton, NJ (USA), received his Bachelor’s degree in “Political Science” and “Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilizations Studies” at Colgate University in 2013. In 2018, he obtained a Master's in Political Science at the American University of Cairo where he was in the Comparative & Middle East Politics and Society joint Master’s program with the University of Tübingen. He wrote his Master’s Thesis on elite consolidation during development and state building in Gamal Abdal Nasser’s Egypt and Park Chunghee’s Korea. His interests include comparative politics, development studies, elite politics, nationalism, populism, the Middle East and North Africa, East Asia, etc.
On 27 April 2026 (10:00 GMT+1, London), Domenico Andrea Schiuma, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Milan, will present a seminar on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). The talk traces the history and foundations of this method, developed by Charles Ragin in 1987 as a way to bridge the longstanding divide between qualitative and quantitative research traditions. Drawing on his own experience using QCA in comparative political research, Schiuma will explain how the method works and what makes it distinctive among mixed-methods approaches.
Politikon invites proposals for a special issue on Eastern and Central Europe in the post-2022 context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The region faces intensified external security pressures alongside significant domestic political transformation, reshaping alliance strategies, governance, and societal cohesion. This issue seeks contributions that analyse how these dynamics interact, drawing on International Relations and Comparative Politics. We welcome work on NATO and EU members, candidate states, and comparative perspectives. Submissions should engage with security alignment or democratic governance under crisis. Extended abstracts (up to 500 words) are due by 1 June 2026.
How are world leaders responding to the United States’ changing diplomatic posture? As Washington adopts a more transactional approach to alliances and engages more openly with authoritarian governments, political leaders across democratic and non-democratic systems face difficult choices. Some accommodate the shift, others resist it, and many attempt to navigate the tension between strategic partnership and the defence of democratic norms.
The Conversations section invites short analytical contributions that place political leadership at the centre of this debate. We welcome essays and reflections examining how individual leaders’ personalities, strategic visions, and domestic constraints shape their responses to an increasingly authoritarian-leaning U.S. foreign policy. Submissions (500–1,000 words) are due 15 April 2026.