An analysis of the declarations of the Department of Political Science after the murder of George Floyd –

As a discipline focused on power, political science provides an important window on potential responses to episodes of increased attention to racial violence and long-standing inequalities in the United States. During the summer of 2020, the Departments of Political Science, like many other entities, published public statements in response to the brutal murder of George Floyd and the long and continuous history of deadly violence against blacks in the hands of the police. This article examines these declarations, providing a descriptive analysis of the themes raised and the types of commitments to action. Rhetorical responses to racism constitute important sites to understand how discursive power is deployed. In the end, we observe that the proposed solutions contained in the declarations are not proportional to the structural understanding of racism encapsulated in declarations. These declarations suggest that the status quo even prevails among those who study power. We document limited commitments to combat racism in political declarations.