Paul Sum

Biography

Paul E. Sum received his PhD in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1996. He came to the University of North Dakota in fall 2000. He teaches courses in Comparative Politics, Democratization, Global Perspectives, Human Rights, and Political Behavior. Sum’s research agenda explores various aspects of political behavior, including cooperation, civil society, inequalities, and democratic citizenship. Here is an example of Sum's recent scholarship which looks at the impact of inequality on collaborative problem-solving skills among youths: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059323001190 And another that considers political engagement among youths in Southeast Europe: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14683857.2024.2366081 

His research has extended to work as an evaluator and consultant in the international arena. Among others, he has worked with the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the World Bank Group. 

Sum maintains a special relationship with Romania. He held the position of Lecturer and Fellow at the Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (1996-1998) under a program funded by the U.S. Department of State. Since 2007, he has served as an expert for the Center for the Study of Democracy and he is an active board member for the Research Center for Civil Society at BBU. In 2009-2010, he was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award to Romania where he lectured and conducted research. He returned as a Fulbright Specialist in  the summer 2025 to work on a project that seeks to bridge the gap between academics and members of the nonprofit community.