In recent years there has been a growing effort to trace the developments of political science in different countries through the analysis of articles published in academic journals. Building on existing literature on the history of the discipline, this contribution provides an attempt to produce a quantitatively informed description of political science publishing in Portugal from 2000 to 2012. Results show that the yearly output in national journals increased notably, mainly driven by international relations and comparative politics. A strong majority of articles are authored by researchers from domestic institutions. Nevertheless, the period under analysis witnessed an expanding scope beyond the domestic case and an increasing comparative focus.

Political science in European universities is often seen as having traditional signature pedagogy but pockets of innovation have become increasingly common. This article will outline and reflect upon two projects at University College Cork, which were designed to increase student engagement and create an active learning environment. The projects brought students directly into contact with the national political arena and, in particular, with contemporary debates on political reform, which have dominated political discourse in Ireland since the economic crash of late 2008. The projects presented students with (1) the opportunity to make an oral and/or written submission to a committee of the national parliament, which held a public session at the University and (2) publish a peer-reviewed article in an online undergraduate research journal and participate in an academic conference. The projects were designed with active and participatory learning at their core and feedback from participating students and staff indicated that these goals were achieved. The level of student engagement, however, in terms of the participating numbers was lower than expected, which brings some caution about students’ perceived enthusiasm for active forms of learning.

This article addresses and observes the crisis of Western democracy through the lens of the weakness of parties and party government, especially at the European Union (EU) level. Social stratification changes, global trends and ultimately the sustained economic crisis have placed political parties atthe national and the EU level under enormous strain. Moreover, demands posed by the crisis on national governments by the EU have generated conflicting interests of different member states. The resulting development of Horizontal Euroscepticism has made intergovernmental decision making, which has represented the backbone of the EU legitimacy up to now, extremely problematic and has posed the need for rethinking democracy in multi-level Europe, ultimately by strengthening supranational democracy through the creation of a form of party government at the EU level as well.

In this Review Symposium on Simon Reich and Richard Ned Lebow’s Good-Bye Hegemony! Power and Influence in the Global System, Daniel Warner and John Mueller challenge Reich and Lebow on some of the key insights of their book. Reich and Lebow then reply to their criticisms. ‘Hegemony’ is one of those buzz words used by policymakers, commentators and scholars to characterise international relations. Whether used critically or uncritically, the concept is often used in ways that are at best vague, at worst misleading. Reich and Lebow’s Good-Bye Hegemony! is an attempt to clarify some of the confusions surrounding the concept of hegemony. However, it is more than that, and they argue how the way that policymakers, commentators and scholars use the concept of hegemony to characterise US foreign policy not only occludes how the global system really works, but also leaves these communities unable to adequately respond to changes in the global system.