The Department of Political Science is staffed by a highly qualified academic team. All members hold doctoral degrees earned either at foreign universities or at leading domestic research institutes. The department currently has six faculty members. The team includes two full professors, three associate professors, and one assistant professor.
Because the department intentionally maintains a lower number of students, teaching takes place in an environment that supports direct and personal contact between teachers and students. This allows for closer mentoring, more individual feedback, and a study experience that encourages discussion and critical engagement.
Marcel Martinkovič, PhD
Head of the Department, Associate Professor
Theory of Democracy, Electoral Systems, Comparative Politics, History of Political Thought
Milan Katuninec, PhD
Professor
Slovak History, Modern European History, Political Ethics
Vasyl Marchuk, Doctor of Historical Sciences
Professor
Comparative Politics, Political Development of Post-Soviet States, Political Analysis, Security Policy
Yevheniy Haydanka, Candidate of Political Sciences
Associate Professor
Transitology, Regional Development, International Cooperation
Pavol Krištof, PhD
Associate Professor
Theories of International Relations, Political Ideologies, Twentieth-Century Political Philosophy
Tomáš Jahelka, PhD
Assistant Professor
Slovak Political Thought, Political and Social Philosophy, Politics and Religion
Marcel Martinkovič
E-mail: marcel.martinkovic [at] truni.sk
Marcel Martinkovič was born on 8 July 1977 in Piešťany. From 1997 to 2002, he studied political science at the Faculty of Humanities of Trnava University, now the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, where he earned a master’s degree in political science. From 2003 to 2007, he completed his doctoral studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava.
His doctoral research examined nationalism in Slovak political thought in the second half of the nineteenth century. In 2007, he was awarded a PhD after successfully defending his dissertation, The Political Thought of the New School.
His research focuses on comparative politics, democratic theory, electoral systems, and the history of Slovak political thought, particularly the political ideas and national movements of the nineteenth century.
He has taught at the Department of Political Science since 2005 and has served as Head of the Department since 2013.
Selection of publications:
Monographies and collective monographies
Martinkovič, Marcel: Moral Aspects of Politics and their Relation to the Legitimacy of Liberal Democracies. In Milan Katuninec, Marcel Martinkovič (Eds.). Ethical and Social Aspects of Policy: Chapters on Selected Issues of Transformation. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang GmbH, 2016. - ISBN 978-3-631-67158-0. - ISSN 2195-1845. - s. 39-62.
Martinkovič, Marcel: Politické myslenie Novej školy: občiansko-národný program Slovenských novín. Bratislava: Filozofický ústav SAV, 2013. - 222 s. - ISBN 978-80-970494-7-8.
Martinkovič, Marcel (ed.): Idey a vývoj slovenského národotvorného myslenia v 19. storočí. Kraków: Towarzystwo Słowaków w Polsce, 2011. - 342 s. - ISBN 978-83-7490-430-8.
Zálešák, Tomáš – Krištof, Pavol – Martinkovič, Marcel: Politická filozofia a politická veda: výber aktuálnych problémov. Trnava: Filozofická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave, 2007. - 152 s. - ISBN 978-80-8082-165-4.
Pavol Krištof
E-mail: pavol.kristof [at] truni.sk
Pavol Krištof was born in 1975. He studied political science at the Faculty of Humanities of Trnava University, now the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, where he earned a master’s degree in political science. He subsequently completed his doctoral studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava and was awarded a PhD in 2010.
His research and teaching focus primarily on theories of international relations, political ideologies, and twentieth-century political philosophy.
He has taught at the Department of Political Science since 2002 and currently holds the position of Associate Professor.
Milan Katuninec
E-mail: milan.katuninec [at] truni.sk
Milan Katuninec was born in 1960. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava. In 1999, he was awarded a PhD in Slovak history by the Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
His research focuses on modern Slovak and Czechoslovak history, modern European history, political ethics, Christian social thought, and the history of political and labour movements. He is the author of several monographs on Slovak, Czechoslovak, and European political history.
He has worked at the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Trnava University since 1998. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Dean of the Faculty. He currently holds the position of Professor.
Selection of publications:
Monographies and collective monographies:
Katuninec, Milan: A few Thoughts on the Relation between Ethics as a Doctrine of Morality and Politics as a Human Activity. In Milan Katuninec, Marcel Martinkovič (Eds.). Ethical and Social Aspects of Policy: Chapters on Selected Issues of Transformation. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang GmbH, 2016. ISBN 978-3-631-67158-0, ISSN 2195-1845, s. 9-37.
Katuninec, Milan: Zlyhania a nádeje demokracie v Európe. Kraków; Trnava: Towarzystwo Słowaków w Polsce, Filozofická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity, 2011. - 230 s. - ISBN 978-83-7490-435-3.
Katuninec, Milan: Fašizmus, národný socializmus a komunizmus: k ideovým zdrojom, praxi a možným rizikám návratu totalitarizmu - 2. uprav. vyd. - Bratislava: Veda, vydavateľstvo Slovenskej akadémie vied, 2010. - 449 s. - ISBN 978-80-224-1125-7.
Katuninec, Milan: Hodnotová demokracia a občianska zodpovednosť. Trnava: Dobrá kniha, 2007. - 107 s. - ISBN 978-80-7141-582-4.
Katuninec, Milan: Kresťanské robotnícke a odborové hnutie na Slovensku. Trnava: Filozofická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity, 2006. - 239 s. - ISBN 80-8082-055-4.
Kázmerová, Ľubica – Katuninec, Milan: Dilemy Karola Sidora. Bratislava: Kalligram, 2006. - 199 s. - ISBN 80-7149-873-4.
Katuninec, Milan: Dejiny Spolku sv. Vojtecha. Trnava: Filozofická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave, 2004. - 190 s. - ISBN 80-89074-99-5.
Katuninec. Milan: Dejiny slovenského kresťanského odborového hnutia. Bratislava: Vydavateľstvo Dobrá kniha pre Teologickú fakultu Trnavskej univerzity, 2001. - 164 s. - ISBN 80-7141-346-1.
Katuninec, Milan: Politické dejiny Nemecka (1871-2000). Trnava: Fakulta humanistiky Trnavskej univerzity, 2001. - 153 s. - ISBN 80-89074-04-9.
Vasyl Marchuk
E-mail: vasyl.marchuk [at] truni.sk
Vasyl Marchuk was born in 1961. He studied at Ivan Ohienko Kamianets-Podilskyi National University and subsequently completed postgraduate studies at the M. P. Drahomanov National Pedagogical University in Kyiv.
In 1996, he defended a dissertation at the Institute for Political and Ethno-National Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv and was awarded the Ukrainian scientific degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences. In 2002, he received the Ukrainian academic rank of Associate Professor, followed by the academic rank of Professor of Political Science in 2006.
From 2005 to 2010, he served as Head of the Department of Political Science at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk. From 2010 to 2014, he served as the university’s Vice-Rector for External Relations.
His research focuses on comparative politics, the political development of post-Soviet states, political analysis and forecasting, and security policy.
He has held the position of Professor at the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Trnava University since 2020.
Yevheniy Haydanka
E-mail: yevheniy.haydanka [at] truni.sk
Yevheniy Haydanka was born in 1983. From 2000 to 2005, he studied political science at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Uzhhorod National University, where he completed his master’s degree in political science.
He subsequently completed postgraduate studies at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. His dissertation examined democratic transitions in Central European countries. In 2012, he successfully defended his dissertation and was awarded the Ukrainian scientific degree of Candidate of Political Sciences.
In 2009, he began working at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of Uzhhorod National University. In 2015, he received the Ukrainian academic rank of Associate Professor in Political Science.
He has been affiliated with the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Trnava University since 2019. His current research focuses primarily on democratic transitions, decentralisation, regional development, public administration, and international cooperation in Central Europe and the Visegrad countries.
He currently holds the position of Associate Professor.
Tomáš Jahelka
E-mail: tomas.jahelka [at] truni.sk
Tomáš Jahelka was born in 1980. He earned a master’s degree in Lutheran theology from the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Faculty of Comenius University in Bratislava in 2003. In 2008, he earned a second master’s degree, in political science, from the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Trnava University.
He subsequently completed his doctoral studies at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. Under the supervision of Professor Jan Zouhar, his doctoral research focused primarily on the philosophy and political thought of T. G. Masaryk.
His research and teaching interests include Slovak and Czech political thought, political and social philosophy, political theory, the history of political ideas, theories of ideology, the relationship between politics and religion, and the philosophy of religion.
Before joining the university, he gained professional experience in secondary education, public administration, broadcasting, and social services supporting people experiencing homelessness.
He has taught at the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Trnava University since 2011 and currently holds the position of Assistant Professor.
Selection of publications:
Monographies a collective monographies
Jahelka, Tomáš - Katuninec, Milan - Krištof, Pavol - Kropaj, Marián: Niekoľko pohľadov na kresťanskú sociálnu etiku a jej vplyv na Slovensku. Trnava: Typy Universitatis Tyrnaviensis, 2016. - 261 s. - ISBN 978-80-8082-984-1
Jahelka, Tomáš: Masarykova filozofia na Slovensku: reflexia v prácach vybraných autorov v období 1918-1948. Trnava: Filozofická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave, 2015. - 106 s. - ISBN 978-80-8082-856-1.