The Political Science department is associated with several academic centers and organizations, on and off campus.

The International Conference for the Study of Political Thought (CSPT) is an international, interdisciplinary organization of scholars and informed citizens concerned to promote the study of past and present political thinking especially with respect to the proper ends of political activity and the means permissible for their attainment. Our own Professor Martyn Thompson was president of CSPT from 1996 to 2003, and remains on the

organization's Executive and Planning Committees. The 2002 and 2003 CSPT conferences were held at Tulane's campus.

The Stone Center for Latin American Studies is one of the world's premier programs for the study of Latin America and the Caribbean. Together, the Political Science Department and the Stone Center offer a joint Ph.D. program in Political Science and Latin American Studies. Political Science faculty also participate in the core seminar for CLAS graduate students, and are active in the Stone Center's conferences, luncheons and summer courses.

The Murphy Institute of Political Economy is an international center for advanced research and scholarship by humanists and social scientists who study the interrelations of politics and economics. Political science courses offered by our department are an important component of the curriculum of the undergraduate Political Economy major offered by the Murphy Institute.