Journal of Politics & Society

The Journal of Politics & Society is an academic journal of the social sciences published twice a year by the Helvidius Group, a nonprofit student organization at Columbia University.

Founding

Founded in 1989 by Columbia University student Peter Tomassi, the Journal began as a magazine distributed to schools in the Ivy League and in Congress. It was originally called the Columbia University Journal of Law and Public Policy and was intended to provide undergraduates a platform for meaningful political discourse.

Years since

Today, the Journal of Politics & Society, with its particular focus on undergraduates and interdisciplinary coverage, is the only scholarly publication of its kind. Now in its twenty-fifth year, the Journal only considers academic papers submitted by undergraduates. In a process comparable to the peer review and editing procedures of professional academic journals, selected papers are rigorously edited by the Editorial Board, itself composed exclusively of undergraduates. Alone among undergraduate periodicals in the United States, the Journal is commercially distributed nationwide. Traditionally distributed to American universities and research libraries, the Journal was first sold in Barnes & Noble in the spring of 2007. Broader distribution has allowed the Journal to provide academic and lay audiences alike with fruitful commentary on contemporary social and political issues.

The Guest Essay

The guest essay, the only segment written by non-undergraduates, contextualizes the research in the Journal within the broader sociopolitical dialogue.

Past contributors include:

• Bill Clinton, former president of the United States
• Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General
• Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor and EPA Administrator
• William Cohen, former Secretary of Defense
• Elizabeth Dole, former United States Senator
• Hillary Clinton, former first lady, United States Senator, and United States Secretary of State
• Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former United States Senator
• James D. Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank
• Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch
• Anthony Marx, President and CEO of the New York Public Library
• Kenneth Waltz, former political scientist and founder of neorealism in international relations theory

Online content

All articles published in the Journal are currently available on the Helvidius Group's Official website. Additionally, the Helvidius Group publishes research summaries, book reviews, and discussions with professors online.

Current leadership

See also

Columbia University