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://authors.elsevier.com/a/1hMr72dqBJnKbc

And another that considers political engagement among youths in Southeast Europe: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14683857.2024.2366081

Sum also is an accomplished international evaluator and consultant. He has worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, World Bank, Council of Europe, OSCE, National Democratic Institute, International Research & Exchanges Board, and the American Council for Learned Societies. 

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, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Since 2007, he has held an academic appointment at the same faculty for the Masters in Research Design and Data Analysis Program. In 2009-2010, Sum was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award to Romania where he lectured and conducted research.