Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge

The Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge (abbreviated POLIS) is the department at the University of Cambridge responsible for research and instruction in political science, international relations and public policy. It is part of the Faculty of Human, Social, and Political Science.

History
POLIS, formed in 2009 by the merger of the former Department of Politics and the Centre for International Studies, is administratively housed at the university's Alison Richard Building on the Sidgwick Site. Its primary predecessor, the Department of Politics, was formed in 2004, prior to which political science had been spread across other departments.

Centres and programmes
Nine specialised programmes and research centres are housed within the department: the Centre of Governance and Human Rights, the Cambridge Centre for Political Thought, the Centre of Development Studies, the Centre for Geopolitics, the Centre for Gender Studies, the Centre of South Asian Studies, the Centre of Latin American Studies, the Centre of African Studies, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and YouGov-Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research. The department also publishes the Cambridge Review of International Affairs.

Degrees and reputation
Politics and International Studies are taught at the undergraduate level through either the Human Social and Political Sciences Tripos or the History & Politics Tripos. At the postgraduate level, the department offers nine Masters' programmes including the MPhil in Politics and International Studies, an MPhil in Public Policy, and an MSt in International Relations as well as four PhD programmes including the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Politics and International Studies.

The University of Cambridge is currently ranked top in the UK for politics by both The Guardian and the Complete University Guide The University is also ranked in the top 5 for international relations and public policy.

Incidents and controversies
Murder of Giulio Regeni In 2016, POLIS PhD student Giulio Regeni was killed while carrying out research in Cairo, Egypt. "On 8 June 2016, the Italian news agency ANSA reported that Regeni's tutors at Cambridge University had declined to collaborate with the inquest into Giulio Regeni's murder, to the disappointment of investigators and Regeni's family. This had been anticipated by coverage in the Italian weekly L'Espresso on 7 June 2016, which reported that Regeni's tutor Maha Abdelrahman had followed advice from University lawyers not to collaborate with the inquest. The University of Cambridge strongly rejected the claims in a statement released to Varsity, the Cambridge student newspaper. Despite commitment on behalf of Cambridge University, as of early December 2017, British authorities had denied requests by the Italian prosecutors concerning the interrogation of specific individuals in Britain; on a similar note, Abdelrahman had refused to speak to the Italian prosecutor. Such British inaction in the aftermath of the incident was later described by Cambridge Member of Parliament and Labour Party politician Daniel Zeichner as "lack of tenacity". Following the controversy that played out in the media, Abdelrahman eventually agreed to be questioned by Italian authorities and received praises from Angelino Alfano, Italy's then Minister of Foreign Affairs, for having chosen to cooperate ."

In 2017, POLIS PhD student Tammy Chen, was one of 18 victims killed in a terror attack in Burkina Faso.