The Institute of Political Education "Pedro Arrupe” is an educational institution whose origins date back to 1958, when the Jesuits in Sicily established the Social Studies Center with the aim of contributing to the cultural, social and economic development of the island, following the traditions of the Society of Jesus: a rigorous analysis of reality, qualified studies, effective teaching, and customized training. A demanding path, whose stages of evolution constantly listen to reality. In 1986, the Society of Jesus decided to enhance the Social Studies Center in order to better address the growing needs related to the development of Sicily and southern Italy, thus creating the Institute of Political Education “Pedro Arrupe”.

The Institute was meant to be a university-like school, with a non-confessional Christian stance, though free from the influence of Christian political parties. The Institute has always resorted to social sciences as a tool for analysis, having politics as the core of its interests, in view of the ethical renovation of politics.

Since 1992 the Institute has joined the Sasakawa Young Leaders Fund Fellowship (SYLFF) network, which is formed by 69 universities and institutes of higher-education worldwide. This allows our Institute to grant scholarships to young Italian and foreign graduates willing to pursue research on social issues. A Level II International Joint Master’s Course was created in collaboration with the University of Palermo, Italy, and the University of Deusto, Spain.

Our target is that politics be no longer a show, hence we aim at providing the knowledge and expertise which will induce passion for the common good. James Madison used to remark that a good government implies two things: in the first place, faithfulness to the whole reason of governing, i.e. people’s happiness; second, the awareness of all the tools with which this goal can be achieved. This is how we want to invest.