^aDepartment of Political Science, University of Leiden, Pieter de la Court Building, Wassenaarseweg 52, P.O.Box 9555, 2300 RB Leiden, the Netherlands. E-mail: erk@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

Abstract

This paper deals with the changes within the profession of political science in Europe. The first part of the paper outlines the emerging integrated academic labour market in Europe and the accompanying process of convergence around shared professional benchmarks. The main observation here is the increasing influence competitive meritocracy has on our profession. The second part of the paper deals with some of the structural barriers European political science faces in such a competitive market. The final part of the paper outlines ways by which to surpass these structural barriers and attain a competitive academic profile while doing a Ph.D. at a typical European university.