Political science and government empirically and theoretically address questions of politics and governance, state and democracy and their development and change in different regions of the world. Four main areas are covered: (1) political theory (research into the history of ideas and the normative foundations of political order, and into the transformation of gender relationships and political culture); (2) comparative politics (comparison of political systems in different world regions and the study of democratic representation, of public opinion, political institutions and organisations, as well as different policy fields); (3) Austrian politics (research on political competition, migration and diversity, as well as social policy) and Europeanisation; and (4) international politics (analysis of globalisation, studies of sustainability and resource politics) and European studies. The activities in each of the above fields are characterised by problem-oriented perspectives in research and teaching, a plurality of approaches to research, as well as interdisciplinary cooperation. A common denominator in research is the analysis of processes of political transformation.