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A Political Scientist's Experience in the Real World of Politics

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Abstract

Doctoral candidates in political science have a universe of potential career options to choose from. These include not only academia, but also the non-governmental sector, political consulting, and government work. When I obtained my doctoral degree in 1993, little did I imagine that within fifteen years I would have tried my hand in all of these fields, including serving as a cabinet minister. In this article, I reflect on how this professional whirlwind came about, how each field helped and/or hindered the others, what these wanderings taught me about post-communist democratic politics, and particularly what lessons a political scientist learned from entering, albeit briefly, the ‘real world’ of politics.

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Muiznieks, N. A Political Scientist's Experience in the Real World of Politics. Eur Polit Sci 8, 68–78 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2008.17

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