Politeia UdeSA is a student initiative at Universidad de San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
We are a nonpartisan group working to get young people involved in politics. We host Model United Nations events, an annual political science conference with leading academics, and other talks and events throughout the year.
We have also organised two Congressional candidates’ debates and hosted government ministers, senior military officers and leaders of Nobel prize-winning organisations.
You can find our online publication Politeia Blog on Medium, and sign up to receive our weekly Spanish-language newsletter on global politics.
No. We are a group of undergrads interested in politics and policy, but we do not conduct our own research or publish any papers.
We are strictly non-partisan and we push no agenda or ideology. Our eclectic team is made up of students with a diverse mix of ideologies—from Tea Party libertarians to Marxist feminists.
We do, however, take positions on some issues which may still be contentious in some countries. We are for LGBT rights and gender equality. We are explicitly against discrimination, hate speech, racism and Holocaust denial. We take no position on other issues, such as, say, pineapple on pizza.
The editors of our student publication are independent from our leaders but they are still bound by the same rules. Politeia Blog regularly publishes editorials commenting on the merits and shortfalls of theory and policy, but we never endorse parties or candidates.
Of course! If you are coming to UdeSA as an exchange student and you’re interested in joining, please send an email to politeia@udesa.edu.ar — English or Spanish preferred, but French is fine.
Whether you’re interested in writing for our student publication, taking part in our Model UN conferences or helping organise our events, there’s a place for you. Your major / concentration doesn’t matter — everyone’s welcome.
We don’t bite, we promise!
If you’re a non-partisan political student group anywhere in the world, drop what you’re doing and email us right now! We’d love to hear from you, so send an email to politeia@udesa.edu.ar or find us on Twitter @PoliteiaUdeSA.
If you represent a think tank or other research / academic institution and you think we could work together, be sure to reach out to us at politeia@udesa.edu.ar.
Sure! We host one Model UN Security Council for undergrads every year, but graduate students are also welcome.
Keep in mind:
- You do not need to be a student here to take part, but you have to be a student somewhere — in Argentina or your country.
- The event is held in the (Southern Hemisphere) Spring semester, usually in September or October.
- The event date is typically announced a month or two before it takes place. Check politeiaudesa.org/modelos for the latest information.
- We are unable to provide funding for your transport or accommodation. We just don’t have the budget.
- Our Model UN events are held in Spanish and translation services are not available.
We might have super-secret plans for Star Trek- and/or Star Wars-themed events in 2018. But if we did, these would be in early planning stages and we would definitely not have any further information to share at this point.
PensARG (aka Pensando la Argentina hacia adentro y hacia afuera) is our yearly Political Science & International Relations conference, usually held in November.
About sixty students are selected every year to attend lectures and workshops with some of Argentina’s leading academics, government officials, legislators and senior military officers. Participants must attend both days of the Conference. It’s a unique opportunity to meet the nation’s leaders in policy and academia.
International students are welcome to apply, both graduate and undergraduate. All talks are given in Spanish, unless otherwise stated.
The application period typically starts a month before the event and the link will be available on this website. However, if you’re interested in attending the Conference and you’re coming from abroad, you may submit an advance application so we can confirm you have been accepted. Keep in mind not all speakers will be confirmed before the official application period begins. If this is something you’re interested in, just shoot an email at politeia@udesa.edu.ar and we’ll tell you what we need to know.
Please be advised we are unable to provide funding to cover any transport or accommodation costs.
These are some of the experts we have hosted at our events over the years (of course, they do not necessarily endorse our other projects or activities):
- Carlos Escudé, a distinguished political scientist
- Gustavo Arribas, the head of Argentina’s spy agency (read all about it in the newspaper!)
- Ricardo Lagorio, former Ambassador to the US and the UN
- María Pía Devoto, one of the leaders of the Nobel prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
- Patricia Bullrich, Federal Minister of Security
- National Deputy Margarita Stolbizer, leader of the GEN Party.
- Navy Commodore Marcelo Tarapow, who commands all operations in Antarctica