08/07/2013 Italian Political Science: Two Italian Political Scientists in the governing body of the European Consortium for Political Research www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/issue7/two-italian-political-scientists-in-the-governing-body-of-the-european-consortium-for-political-research 1/3 The Professional Review Of The Italian Political Science Association Two  Italian  Political  Scientists  in  the governing  body  of  the  European Consortium  for  Political  Research by  IPS  |  Published  in  issue7  /  Political  science  community An  interview  of  IPS  to  Professor  Simona  Piattoni  (University  of  Trento),  the  new  Chairperson  of  ECPR  and  to Professor  Luca  Verzichelli  (University  of  Siena)  new  Italian  Member  of  the  ECPR  Executive  Committee. Professor  Simona  Piattoni IPS:  Simona,  if  we  are  not  wrong  you  are  the  third  Italian  chair  of  the  ECPR  executive  after  Freddi and  Bardi  and  the  first  woman.  This  is  an  important  achievement  for  Italian  political  science  and for  you  personally.  Can  you  comment  on  this  and  tell  also  on  the  basis  of  your  previous  experience as  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  what  is  the  situation  of  ECPR,    the  future  challenges, your  projects,  etc… SP:  It  is  an  honor  for  me  to  follow  in  the  steps  of  Giorgio  Freddi  and  Luciano  Bardi  as  Chair  of  the  ECPR,  and I  am  particularly  happy  to  be  the  first  woman  ever  to  be  elected  chair  of  the  ECPR!  I  have  made  myself available  for  this  role  as  a  service  to  the  community  of  political  scientists  in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  and  this is  the  spirit  with  which  I  intend  to  fulfill  my  duties.  The  ECPR  is  by  now  a  very  large  organization,  with  lots  of activities  (conferences,  schools,  standing  groups,  research  sessions,  publications,  etc.).  The  role  of  the  Chair is   to   make   sure   that   these   activities   are   performed   to   the   satisfaction   of   the   membership   and   that exchanges  between  European  and  international  political  scientists  are   increasingly  frequent  and  fruitful.  I believe  that   the  main  challenges   for   the   future  of   the  ECPR  are:  1)   to  keep  these  activities  going  while securing  their  increased  quality;;  2)  to  expand  membership  in  those  countries  whose  political  scientists  are not   yet   fully   integrated   in   international   scholarly   circles;;   3)   to   promote   political   science   (while   it   is   still considered  in  an  “ancillary”  role  to  other  sciences)  and  to  protect  it  from  the  funding  cuts  that  are  planned  a bit  everywhere  (also  in  Europe). IPS:  what  role  has  played  ECPR  in  your  formation  as  a  political  scientist? SP:  I  remember  attending  both  the  Research  Sessions  and  the  Joint  Sessions  at  a  very  early  stage  in  my career   as   a   political   scientist.   I   was   trained   in   the   United   States,   so   my   first   professional   association experience  was  with  APSA.  However,  as  soon  as  I  came  back  to  Europe  (Norway  at  the  time),  I  became involved   with   the   ECPR   (and   with   the   SISP!).   I   remember   my   first   Joint   Sessions   in   Oslo:   I   was   very impressed  by  the  quality  of  my  workshop  and  I  literally  loved  the  idea  of  meeting  for  three-­four  days  to discuss   in   depth   one   topic   rather   than   delivering   a   paper   in   10-­15   minutes   (as   is   common   at   large conferences).  Unfortunately,  I  never  attended  the  famous  Summer  School  in  Methods  and  Techniques,  but  if I  could  express  a  wish,  it  would  be  that  “refresher  courses”  could  be  offered  also  for  senior  scholars  who desire  to  bring  their  methodological  skills  up  to  date! http://www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/ http://www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/issue7/two-italian-political-scientists-in-the-governing-body-of-the-european-consortium-for-political-research http://www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/contributors/ips http://www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/issue7/ http://www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/category/political-science-community/ 08/07/2013 Italian Political Science: Two Italian Political Scientists in the governing body of the European Consortium for Political Research www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/issue7/two-italian-political-scientists-in-the-governing-body-of-the-european-consortium-for-political-research 2/3 IPS:  ECPR  in  Europe:    where  it  is  still  weak  and  what  can  be  done? SP:   Yes,   our   plan   is   to   strengthen   Political   Science   throughout   Europe   and   to   extend   ECPR membership  particularly  to  eastern  Europe,  to  Russia  but  not  only  Russia.  We  realize  that  there  is  a  great potential  for  political  science  in  countries  in  which  the  social  sciences  have  been  kept,  for  a  long  time,  on  the back-­burner.   We   would   also   like   to   extend   our   reach   to   North   Africa,   even   though   that   is   a   bit   more complicated  (although  interesting!)  right  now. IPS:  ECPR  in  global  Political  Science.  What  about  the  relationship  with  American  Political  Science (APSA),  and  with  other  international  organizations  active  in  our  field? SP:  ECPR  has  already  fairly  established  collaborations  with  APSA,  IPSA,  ISA,  EUSA,  etc.  which  it  wishes  to keep  up  and  expand  on. IPS:  what  can  you  say  about  the  presence  of  Italian  political  scientists  in  ECPR?  Is  it  adequate? SP:  Italians  attend  ECPR  events  in  great  numbers,  particularly  Italian  graduate  students.  However,  Italian political  scientists  do  not  propose  workshops  (at  the  Joint  Sessions  or  the  Research  Sessions)  to  the  same extent  as  other  political  scientists  particularly  from  northern  European  countries  nor  are  Italian  universities particularly  forthcoming  in  offering  to  host  ECPR  events.   IPS:  Thank  you  Simona! Professor  Luca  Verzichelli IPS:  Luca,  you  are  a  new  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  ECPR  and  you  were  assigned  a specific  portfolio.  How  was  your  impact  with  this  new  experience,  what  are  your  duties  and  goals? LV:  the  work  as  an  EC  member  is  very  demanding  but  very  stimulating  at  the  same  time.  I  started  a  couple of  months  ago  and  I  am  still  learning  about  procedures,  priorities  and  duties  of  the  Executive  committee.  At this  moment,  my  responsibilities  are  “Publications”,  a  huge  portfolio  which  I  will  share  with  other  colleagues, and  the  “Research  Sessions”,  an  old  ECPR  activity  which  has  been  recently  re-­launched,  with  very  good feedbacks  I  have  to  say.   At  the  induction  meeting  of  the  new  EC,  in  Colchester,  we  had  an  interesting  kick  off  session  during  which each  EC  member  could  introduce,  by  way  of  an  electronic  forum,  ideas  and  expectations  for  the  years  to come.  Significantly,  there  was  a  good  convergence  of  views  on  a  few  items.  Among  them,  creating  a  good inter-­generational   dialogue,   helping   young   scholars   to   socialize   with   the   European   political   science, preserving   the   traditional   mission   of   ECPR   (mainly   the   diffusion   and   the   dissemination   of   good   political science   all   around   Europe)   without   ignoring   new   themes,   new   techniques   and   cooperation   with   extra-­ European  communities. Of  course  we  will  have  to  discuss  about  other  crucial  aspects  and  challenges,  including  the  role  of  EPCR  in the  other  areas  of  the  planet.  Governing  ECPR  is  more  and  more  challenging,  since  we  have  to  consider  a system   of   complex   relationships   with   individuals,   academic   institutions   (which   are   traditionally   our organizational   “units”)   and   other   national   or   regional   communities   of   scholars.   We   are   talking   of   an organization  formed  today  by  more  than  400  institutional  members  and  having  to  deal  with  more  than  50 national  communities.  However,  I  think  this  is  a  motivated  group  of  people  and  we  have  the  chance  to  make a  great  job.  Personally,  I  am  very  honored  to  be  included  in  such  a  group  and  I  am  sure  I  will  learn  a  lot form  this  experience. IPS:  what  role  has  played  ECPR  in  your  formation  as  a  political  scientist? LV:  ECPR  has  always  been  very  much  present  in  my  life  as  a  political  scientist,  and  I  perceived  its  crucial role   since   the   beginnings   of   my   career.   I   was   in   the   methods   summer   school   in   1990,   and   my   first experience  in  a  ECPR  workshop  was  in  1994.  Since  then,  I  have  attended  10  joint  sessions,  plus  a  number of   other   events   like   general   conferences   and   summer   schools.   I   think   I   was   very   lucky   to   have   the opportunity   to   get   in   touch   with   a   good   number   of   “ECPR   people”.   This   allowed   me   to   be   included   in important  research  projects  and,  above  all,   to  observe  what  the  best  professional  social  scientists  do   in order  to  develop  a  better  research. 08/07/2013 Italian Political Science: Two Italian Political Scientists in the governing body of the European Consortium for Political Research www.italianpoliticalscience.eu/issue7/two-italian-political-scientists-in-the-governing-body-of-the-european-consortium-for-political-research 3/3 From  my  ECPR  experiences  I  did  not  simply  learn  “substantive”  political  science:  a  fundamental  aspect  of such  an  organization  is  the  impressive  stimulation  it  can  provide,  putting  old  and  new  scholars  at  the  same table.   Indeed,   the   ECPR   experience   helps   avoiding   parochialism   and   prevents   us   from   developing extrapolations  based  on  limited  confrontations.  This  is  particularly  true  in  my  specific  field,  the  analysis  of comparative  political  institutions,  which  is  at  the  core  of  the  ECPR  mission  of  “real  word  comparison”,  This  is a  simple  but  crucial  lesson  I  learnt  from  one  of  my  mentors,  Jean  Blondel,  many  years  ago.  And  it’s  time  to get  back  to  Europe  to  tell  this  story  to  the  young  fellows. IPS:  what  can  you  say  about  the  presence  of  Italian  political  science  in  ECPR?  Is  it  adequate,  or what? LV:  Over   the  years,  many  EC  members  and   three  chairpersons  have  been  elected   from  among   Italian scholars.  This   is  a  good   indicator  of   the  credibility  of  our  community  within   the  ECPR  organization.  The Italian  presence  at  the  ECPR  events  and  within  the  standing  groups  is  also  very  relevant.  However,  I  think we  can  still  improve.  Particularly,  we  should  make  an  effort  to  link  the  younger  generation  of  scholars  to  the ECPR   organization   and   to   help   them   to   publish   at   the   international   level,   perhaps   using   the   different opportunities  offered  by  the  ECPR  series  and  journals.  This  is  one  of  my  goals  for  the  years  to  come,  and  I do  hope  to  give  a  little  contribution  in  this  perspective. IPS:  thank  you  Luca  and  good  luck  to  both  of  you!