International Political Science Association

Last updated
International Political Science Association
AbbreviationIPSA
Formation1949
Type INGO
Headquarters Montreal, Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English, French
President
Dianne Pinderhughes Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Parent organization
International Science Council (ISC)
Website IPSA Official website

The International Political Science Association (IPSA), founded under the auspices of UNESCO in 1949, is an international scholarly association. IPSA is devoted to the advancement of political science in all parts of the world. During its history [1] it has helped build bridges between East and West, North and South, and has promoted collaboration between scholars in both established and emerging democracies. Its aim is to create a global political science community in which all can participate, most recently it has been extending its reach in Eastern Europe and Latin America. IPSA has consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and it is a member of the International Science Council, which brings together over 230 science organizations across the world and actively cooperates with partners from the United Nations system, such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Contents

History

Since its beginning, national political science associations have constituted its core. Its founder members included American, Canadian, French and Indian political science associations. By 1960, 24 more national associations had joined up. Since then, collective membership has been expanding at a steady pace. Today, 59 national associations [2] are collective members of IPSA. Each collective member is represented on IPSA's central governing organ, the council. The council lays down broad policy guidelines for the association and elects the executive committee, which is responsible for the conduct of IPSA's affairs between congresses.

Individual and associate membership was introduced in the early 1950s. Starting with 52 members in 1952, IPSA's individual membership now stands at more than 4,165 members. The association has worked hard to increase the involvement of women, who now make up more than a third of the membership. Associate membership is open to institutions engaged in research or teaching in the area of political science and is hovering at around 110 institutions worldwide.

Mission

The special mandate of IPSA, expressed in its Constitution, is to support the development of political science in all parts of the world, building academic networks linking East and West, North and South. Its aim is to create an inclusive and global political science community in which all can participate. It seeks to promote collaboration between scholars in emerging and established democracies and to support the academic freedoms needed for the social sciences to flourish.

The activities and policies of IPSA reflect its global mission. It has been highly successful in the encouragement of national political science associations and today there are 59 such associations affiliated with IPSA. IPSA has maintained its links with the United Nations and has supported the development of other international and regional political science organizations.

IPSA World Congresses of Political Science are now held every second year, moving between continents. The participation of scholars from less developed countries is supported through travel grants and the Global South Solidarity Fund. IPSA's research committees offer opportunities for political scientists working in particular sub-fields of the discipline to associate with colleagues from around the world. Organizing events between World Congresses and playing a major role in these Congresses, the research committees encourage the worldwide pooling of skills and resources by working both together and in conjunction with specialist sub-groups of national associations.

IPSA publications, including the lead journal International Political Science Review, the International Political Science Abstracts, World Political Science, Participation, and the IPSA Portal, also seek to meet the needs of political scientists in different parts of the world. As part of IPSA's global mission to support and promote political science, it now conducts summer schools in research methods across the globe, for example, in South America and South Africa.

IPSA strives to ensure balanced representation in terms of region, gender and stage of career in all its activities – for example, the creation of a new research committee must be supported by political scientists from at least seven countries and two continents. Conference panels and roundtables are expected to display similar diversity, with representation from more than one continent and at least four countries.

By linking scholars from North and South as well as East and West, IPSA seeks to strengthen the networks that underpin a global political science community. Such linkages put political science in a stronger position to contribute to the quality of public deliberation and decision-making as well as to the understanding of an increasingly interconnected political world. Ultimately, IPSA supports the role of political science in empowering men and women to participate more effectively in political life, whether within or beyond the states in which they live.

Academic activities

IPSA's academic activities fall under three main headings: 1) organizing biennial world congresses as well as regular events between congresses; 2) promoting research in political science, notably through a wide-reaching network of research committees (RCs); and 3) disseminating research and information through a range of publications. IPSA's principal academic activity is the biennial congress. Starting in 1950 and 1952, world congresses have since been taking place every three years. From small beginnings, they have developed into major international scientific occasions, typically attracting about 2000 participants. As of 2012, world congresses are held every other year. In addition to these major events, IPSA sponsors other types of scholarly meetings such as conferences, roundtables and workshops.

Since the 1970s, one of the most dynamic areas of growth within IPSA has been the activity of its RCs. In addition to organizing panels at the triennial congresses, RCs organize their own meetings between congresses, publish newsletters and issue other publications. IPSA now has 49 active RCs with interests ranging from political finance to gender and language politics and comparative democratization.

List of Research Committees

Summer schools

IPSA offers summer schools in São Paulo, Brazil (since 2010), Stellenbosch, South Africa (2011-2013), Singapore (since 2012), Ankara/Antalya, Turkey (since 2013), Mexico (since 2016), St. Petersburg (since 2017), Capri (since 2018) and Montréal (since 2020). IPSA summer schools are intended to give social sciences scholars access to high-quality advanced training in qualitative and quantitative social science and political science research methods.

Publishing

IPSA's extensive publishing program has included International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA) (1951–present); [3] International Political Science Review (1980–present) [4] and the bulletin of the association, Participation.(1977–). More recently, IPSA has offered an online publication, IPSAPortal, which provides ratings and links for the top 300 web sites for political science worldwide. Finally, IPSA offers a monthly information email called Newsletter. From 2014 to 2019, IPSA also published World Political Science, in collaboration with De Gruyter.

Awards

The association awards various scholarly awards to leading scholars in the field, including the Karl Deutsch Award.

List of World Congresses and Presidents

World Congresses and Presidents [5]
Nr.IPSALocationPresidentFrom
28.IPSA 2025 Seoul Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 2023–2025 Pablo Oñate University of Valencia Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
27.IPSA 2023 Buenos Aires Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 2021–2023 Dianne Pinderhughes University of Notre Dame Flag of the United States.svg  United States
26.IPSA 2021 Lisboa (Virtual)Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2018–2021 Marianne Kneuer University of Hildesheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
25.IPSA 2018 Brisbane Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2016–2018 İlter Turan Istanbul Bilgi University Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
24.IPSA 2016 Poznań Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 2014–2016Aiji TanakaWaseda University Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
23.IPSA 2014 Montréal Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2012–2014 Helen Milner Princeton University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
22.IPSA 2012 Madrid Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 2009–2012 Leonardo Morlino University of Florence Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
21.IPSA 2009 Santiago Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 2006–2009Lourdes SolaUniversity of São Paulo Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
20.IPSA 2006 Fukuoka Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2003–2006Max KaaseInternational University of Bremen Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
19.IPSA 2003 Durban Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 2000–2003Dalchoong KimYonsei University Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
18.IPSA 2000 Quebec Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1997–2000 Theodore J. Lowi Cornell University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
17.IPSA 1997 Seoul Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 1994–1997Jean LecaSciences Po (FNSP), Paris Flag of France.svg  France
16.IPSA 1994 Berlin Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1991–1994 Carole Pateman UCLA, Los Angeles Flag of the United States.svg  United States
15.IPSA 1991 Buenos Aires Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1988–1991 Guillermo O'Donnell CEBRAP, São Paulo/Notre Dame Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
14.IPSA 1988 Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg  United States 1985–1988Kinhide MushakojiUN University, Tokyo Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
13.IPSA 1985 Paris Flag of France.svg  France 1982–1985 Klaus von Beyme University of Heidelberg Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
12.IPSA 1982 Rio de Janeiro Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1979–1982Candido MendesSBI, Rio de Janeiro Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
11.IPSA 1979 Moscow Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1976–1979 Karl Deutsch Harvard University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
10.IPSA 1976 Edinburgh Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 1973–1976Jean LaponceUniversity of British Columbia Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
9.IPSA 1973 Montréal Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1970–1973 Stein Rokkan University of Bergen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
8.IPSA 1970 Munich Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 1967–1970 Carl Joachim Friedrich Harvard University Flag of the United States.svg  United States
7.IPSA 1967 Brussels Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1964–1967Jacques FreymondIUHEI, Geneva Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
6.IPSA 1964 Geneva Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1961–1964 Norman Chester Nuffield College, Oxford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
5.IPSA 1961 Paris Flag of France.svg  France 1958–1961Jacques ChapsalFNSP, Paris Flag of France.svg  France
4.IPSA 1958 Rome Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1955–1958 James K. Pollock University of Michigan Flag of the United States.svg  United States
3.IPSA 1955 Stockholm Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1952–1955 William A. Robson London School of Economics Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
2.IPSA 1952 The Hague Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1949–1952 Quincy Wright University of Chicago Flag of the United States.svg  United States
1.IPSA 1950 Zurich Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
XFoundation Paris Flag of France.svg  France

IPSA Executive Director (Secretaries General from 1949 to 2019)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratization</span> A society becoming more democratic

Democratization, or democratisation, is the democratic transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Political Science Association</span> Professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States

The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library of Tulane University in New Orleans, it publishes four academic journals: American Political Science Review, Perspectives on Politics, Journal of Political Science Education, and PS: Political Science & Politics. APSA Organized Sections publish or are associated with 15 additional journals.

Juan José Linz Storch de Gracia was a Spanish sociologist and political scientist specializing in comparative politics. He was Sterling Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Political Science at Yale University and an honorary member of the Scientific Council at the Juan March Institute. He is best known for his work on authoritarian political regimes and democratization.

The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) is a scholarly association that supports and encourages the training, research and cross-national cooperation of many thousands of academics and graduate students specialising in political science and all its sub-disciplines. ECPR membership is institutional rather than individual and, at its inception in 1970, comprised eight members. Membership has now grown to encompass more than 350 institutions throughout Europe, with associate members spread around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guillermo O'Donnell</span> Argentine political scientist (1936–2011)

Guillermo Alberto O'Donnell Ure was a prominent Argentine political scientist who specialized in comparative politics and Latin American politics. He spent most of his career working in Argentina and the United States, and who made lasting contributions to theorizing on authoritarianism and democratization, democracy and the state, and the politics of Latin America. His brother is Pacho O'Donnell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivien A. Schmidt</span> American academic

Vivien A. Schmidt is an American academic of political science and international relations. At Boston University, she is the Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration Professor of International Relations in the Pardee School of Global Studies, and Professor of Political Science. She is known for her work on political economy, policy analysis, democratic theory, and new institutionalism. She is a 2018 recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and has been named a Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pippa Norris</span> Political scientist

Pippa Norris is a political scientist specializing in comparative politics. She is the McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and she has served as the Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, and Director of the Electoral Integrity Project.

John S. Dryzek is a Centenary Professor at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra's Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Policy Association</span>

The Social Policy Association (SPA) is the United Kingdom's professional association for teachers, researchers, students and practitioners of social policy. It works to promote the discipline, encourage public awareness of social policy research, liaise with relevant public bodies and higher education institutions, and facilitate the impact of research on public debates and social policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Welzel</span> German political scientist

Christian Welzel is a German political scientist at the Leuphana University Lueneburg and director of research at the World Values Survey Association. He is known for the model of cultural dimensions which measures emancipative values and secular values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippe C. Schmitter</span> American political scientist (born 1936)

Philippe C. Schmitter is an American political scientist specializing in comparative politics. He is Emeritus Professor of the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute.

Dirk Berg-Schlosser is professor emeritus of political science at University of Marburg in Germany.

The Karl Deutsch Award is awarded by the International Political Science Association (IPSA) each year an IPSA World Congress of Political Science is held. The recipient of the award presents the Karl Deutsch Lecture or leads a special session at the World Congress. The purpose of the award is to honour a prominent scholar engaged in cross-disciplinary research. It was named after the prominent political scientist Karl Deutsch. According to a reputation survey conducted in 2013 and 2014, it is the third most prestigious international academic award in political science, after the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science and the Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julio C. Teehankee</span> Filipino political scientist

Julio Cabral Teehankee is a Filipino political scientist. He is Full Professor of Political Science and International Studies at De La Salle University (DLSU) where he served as Chair of the Political Science Department (1994–2007); Chair of the International Studies Department (2008–2013); and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (2013–2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic backsliding</span> Liberal democracies becoming authoritarian

Democratic backsliding, also called autocratization, is "a process of regime change towards autocracy that makes the exercise of political power more arbitrary and repressive and that restricts the space for public contestation and political participation in the process of government selection". Democratic decline involves the weakening of democratic institutions, such as the peaceful transition of power or free and fair elections, or the violation of individual rights that underpin democracy, especially freedom of expression.

Josep Maria Colomer Calsina is a political scientist and economist. His research focuses on the strategies for the design, establishment, and change of political institutions. Topics include the processes of democratization, the origins of parliamentary and separation of powers regimes, the invention of electoral systems and voting rules, the development of nations and empires such as the United States and the European Union, and the increasing role of global institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nic Cheeseman</span> British political scientist

Nic Cheeseman is a British political scientist and professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham, working on democracy, elections and African politics. A columnist for the African Report and South Africa’s Mail & Guardian and the editor of the website Democracy in Africa. A regular commentator in the media, he is sometimes referred to by his well-known Twitter handle, @fromagehomme.

Mona Lena Krook is an American political scientist. She is a Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, where she is also the Chair of the Women and Politics Ph.D. Program. She studies the political representation of women, particularly gender quotas in governments and the phenomenon of violence against women in politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Stevenson</span> American political scientist

Randolph T. Stevenson is an American political scientist and professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

References

  1. Boncourt, Thibaud. A History of the International Political Science Association. International Political Science Association: Montréal, 2009.
  2. List of IPSA Collective Members
  3. International Political Science Abstracts
  4. International Political Science Review
  5. Events – Past IPSA World Congresses of Political Science. Retrieved 07/07/2015.