Resource Guide
Research Project Ideas in Politics & International Relations
Specific, answerable questions across political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and political behaviour, with guidance on reasoning from evidence.
How to Use This List
Politics is the field where it is easiest to mistake strong opinions for strong work. Admissions readers see no shortage of applicants with views; far rarer is the student who can investigate a political question with genuine rigour, taking opposing arguments seriously and following the evidence rather than their preferences.
The questions below are framed to reward that discipline. Take one that interests you and narrow it to something specific and answerable. Our guide to writing a research question shows how, and our literature review guide explains how to map the existing debate.
Choose a Method Before a Topic
The method is the decision that determines whether a project can actually be finished; the topic is secondary. Every question below is tagged with one of these four routes, its difficulty, and the finished output it should produce.
Theory argument
Reconstruct a political argument accurately, then test it. The discipline is to state the position in its strongest form before disagreeing with it.
The primary text rather than a summary, and a willingness to be persuaded.
Comparative analysis
Compare two or more countries on one dimension. Comparative politics is built on the claim that variation explains, so the cases have to be chosen for what they differ on.
Two cases that differ on the thing you are testing and little else.
Public dataset
Election results, survey series and democracy indices are all published. V-Dem and national election studies let you test a claim rather than assert it.
One dataset, and clarity about what it measures rather than what you wish it measured.
Literature review
Synthesise what political scientists have established on a contested question, and be explicit about where the discipline genuinely disagrees.
Google Scholar, and a question narrow enough to be answerable.
Ideas by Sub-Field
Political theory
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What is the strongest justification for democracy, and what are its most serious challenges?
Theory argument Advanced
Output: An essay stating the strongest case for democracy and answering the most serious objection to it
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How should liberty and equality be balanced, according to competing political philosophies?
Theory argument Advanced
Output: An argued essay that resolves the tension rather than describing it
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What does a key thinker, such as Rawls or Hobbes, actually argue, and how well does it hold up?
Theory argument Intermediate
Output: A reconstruction of one thinker’s actual argument, then a tested assessment of whether it holds
Comparative politics
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Why do some democracies prove more stable than others, according to the evidence?
Comparative analysis Advanced
Output: A structured comparison of two democracies on named stability factors
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What explains the rise of populist movements across different countries?
Literature review Intermediate
Output: A review of competing explanations for populism, weighed against the cross-national evidence
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How do electoral systems shape the party systems that emerge under them?
Comparative analysis Intermediate
Output: A comparison of two electoral systems and the party systems that emerged under each
International relations
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How well do the main theories of international relations explain a specific conflict?
Literature review Advanced
Output: A review applying the main IR theories to one conflict and judging which explains most
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What does the evidence say about whether economic interdependence reduces the risk of war?
Literature review Advanced
Output: A review of the interdependence and conflict literature, with the identification problem addressed
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How effective are international institutions at addressing a chosen global problem?
Comparative analysis Intermediate
Output: An assessment of one institution against its own stated objectives
Political behaviour & elections
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What does the data reveal about what actually drives how people vote?
Public dataset Intermediate
Output: An analysis of election study data with your own charts and stated limits
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How does media coverage measurably shape public opinion on an issue?
Literature review Intermediate
Output: A review of media effects research, separating measured effects from asserted ones
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What explains differences in political participation between groups?
Public dataset Intermediate
Output: A turnout analysis by group using published election data
Argument Held to Evidence
The defining move in strong political research is to treat your own view as a hypothesis to be tested, not a conclusion to be defended. That means seeking out the best evidence against your position, engaging the strongest version of the opposing argument, and being willing to revise. A project that does this is doing political science; one that only marshals support is doing advocacy.
A mentor helps a student hold that line: choosing a question that evidence can actually bear on, distinguishing correlation from cause, and building an argument robust enough to survive challenge, which is exactly what a politics or PPE interview will provide.
Free PDF
Take the 50 strongest ideas with you
A free PDF with fifty of these questions tagged by method and difficulty, the output each should produce, and the feasibility checklist we apply before recommending any project. We email it to you, along with occasional guidance worth having. No obligation, and your details are not passed to anyone.
Taking a Question Further
Politics overlaps with law, economics, history, and philosophy. For the wider context, see our Law, Politics & International Relations field page, our companion guides to law and economics, and our broader research project ideas across all six fields. When you are ready to turn a question into a finished project with a mentor who works in the field, the Research Scholar programme is built for exactly that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to study politics at school to do a politics research project?
No. Students arrive through history, economics, philosophy, or a strong interest in current affairs. What matters is curiosity about power, institutions, and collective decisions, and a willingness to weigh evidence and argument carefully.
What kind of politics research can a high school student do?
A great deal: evaluating a political theory against evidence, analysing why a policy succeeded or failed, comparing political systems, or studying patterns in elections using public data. Most projects are argument-driven or data-driven and need only public sources.
How do I avoid a politics project becoming just an opinion piece?
Anchor it to evidence and to a specific, answerable question. The aim is not to argue for your side but to investigate honestly, taking the strongest version of opposing views seriously. That discipline is exactly what distinguishes political science from punditry.
Is a politics project useful for PPE or international relations applications?
Yes. These courses reward students who can frame a question, handle evidence, and reason about competing arguments. A focused project demonstrates all three and gives an applicant something specific and genuine to discuss at interview.
Now placing students for the October start. Places in each field are limited by mentor availability. We review applications on a rolling basis.
ScholarBridge matches students with doctoral-level or equivalent research mentors across six academic fields. Every project is student-led and completed to a standard the student can stand behind in any university interview.
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