Political science is primarily concerned with how governments act and how they are controlled; it examines the ways in which governments relate to each other, citizen-state relations, and the exercise of political power. Faculty specialties in the department include American politics and governmental institutions; elections and political parties in the United States and abroad; the creation and revolutionizing of political systems; public policy analysis, especially environmental, economic, budget, and health policies; international relations, with special focuses on international political economy and international organizations; religious and ethnic conflict; the politics of gender; political strategies; research methods; and comparative politics, with various regional concentrations. In its programs leading to the BA, MA, and PhD, the department makes a strong effort to relate the study of politics to students’ needs and concerns and to reflect in its courses both the excitement and seriousness of real-world politics.