The subject of government encompasses the systems that a nation, state, or other political community is administered and regulated. Governments may be democracies structured by constitutional law, as in the United States, a socialist country governed by a single Communist Party, as in China, or any other form of rule. However, in all jurisdictions, government plays a centrally important role in establishing and enforcing laws, collecting and allocating tax revenues, directing the use of public resources, and other activities that are fundamental to society.

Governance is always evolving, and recent years have seen the role and nature of government changed by the same revolutions in information technologies that have disrupted countless private sector industries. E-government promises to make governance much more efficient, replacing decades-old bureaucracies with “smart” cities and countries administered and regulated with the help of real-time data. At the same time, the advent of social media has led to upheaval in many countries, from the revolutions of the Arab Spring to struggles with the spread of disinformation in many Western democracies.

Learning about government isn’t only important if you want to work in politics or a government agency. Businesses must stay abreast of changes in governments and the laws they propagate, as they are typically subject to regulatory compliance requirements in areas like taxation and financial reporting, environmental performance, and more. Understanding politics and government is especially important for strategic planning in industries such as oil and gas or mining, where business opportunities may depend on government decisions surrounding the use of natural resources.

If you’re fascinated by the important and ever-changing world of government, working in political science can be a gateway to an interesting and rewarding career. Using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, political scientists study the development and working of political systems, structures of government, the effectiveness of different policies and regulations, and trends in public opinion. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, political scientists earned a median annual salary of $122,220 in 2019, and typically had at least a master’s degree in political science.

Absolutely. Coursera has opportunities to learn about government across a variety of perspectives, including legal topics like constitutional law, the rise of e-government and smart cities, and ensuring business regulatory compliance. Regardless of what you choose to learn about, you’ll learn about government from top-ranked schools like University of California, Irvine, University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and National Research University Higher School of Economics, so you’ll get a great education while learning remotely.