How hundreds of letters home connect a Cornellian family
A student chronicled her life in the ’50s and ’60s—then shared those memories with her daughter and granddaughter – who's now an A&S alumna.
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The department of government offers students a variety of opportunities to engage with politics and political science, beginning in the classroom, with the chance to work one-on-one with faculty; by participating in internships, and by drawing on the department's ties with programs across the College of Arts and Sciences.
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Government News
Lund debate kicks off yearlong conversation on foreign aid 
Faculty members discussed the value of international aid in the wake of the Trump administration’s policy that froze foreign assistance.
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SNAP benefit lapse: U.S. ‘officially losing’ war on poverty
The loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits November 1 if the government shutdown holds benefits will have profound repercussions for democracy, says government scholar Jamila Michener.
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Your October 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles include short stories, a fantasy book for tweens, and a scholarly look at Carmen adaptations – all by Arts & Sciences alumni and faculty.
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U.S. returning to ‘familiar pattern’ of interventionism in Latin America
Trump's move to cut aid to Columbia and enact tariffs is the latest in a string of escalating tensions between the U.S. and countries in Latin America, says Cornell government professor Ken Roberts.
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Gaza ceasefire shouldn’t be considered a “peace deal”
Uriel Abulof, a visiting professor in Cornell University’s government department, calls it “a survival pact for leaders who thrive on conflict and enmity."
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Hot-mic moment with President window into ‘transactional foreign policy’
Trump has turned U.S. foreign policy into a tool for petty corruption and insider deal-making instead of supporting U.S. national interests, says a Cornell government faculty member.
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Public speeches challenged assumptions in ancient Greece
In a new paper, Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow Davide Napoli argues that public speeches in ancient Greece aimed not to express personal views, but to undermine entrenched ideas and challenge common-sense conclusions.
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Department principles
The Government Department at Cornell is committed to free speech and academic freedom, to creating and sustaining a community all of whose members can teach, study, work and thrive, whatever their backgrounds or beliefs, without fear of intolerance, bigotry, harassment, or reprisal. Cornell University is justifiably proud of having committed itself to an affirmative responsibility to protect academic free speech, including extramural speech. It has declared this to be a year of "freedom of expression" at Cornell. We reaffirm.
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Our doctoral students are trained in all the main fields of the discipline and have extensive research and teaching experience. Government graduates have gone on to outstanding careers in higher education, public service, and the private sector.