The Political Studies Association (PSA) is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

which exists to develop and promote the study of

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. It is the leading association in its field in the United Kingdom, with an international membership including academics in political science and current affairs, theorists and practitioners, policy makers, researchers and students in higher education. The PSA was founded in 1950, following the establishment of the

International Political Science Association 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 histor ...

in 1949, and was initially supported by a grant from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The PSA has a network of over fifty "Specialist Groups" that provide a research focus for members and receive support from the PSA.

Publications

The PSA publishes five journals: * '' British Journal of Politics and International Relations'' * ''Political Insight'' * ''

Political Studies Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

'': publishes research in all areas of politics and international relations. The journal's approach is not dominated by a particular methodological or theoretical framework. Indeed, the editors have expressed their wish to encourage a pluralism and debate between approaches. * ''

Political Studies Review The ''Political Studies Review'' is an academic journal that publishes rather range of long short form articles, including: original research articles, review articles, early results, the null hypothesis, and symposia and new ideas in the field of ...

'': provides not only reviews of new books and literature on political science and international relations but also provides a forum for wide-ranging debates and reviews. * ''

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

''.

Awards

The PSA holds an annual awards ceremony, giving prizes to political scientists,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

s. Academic prizes include the Sir

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

Prize, for lifetime contribution to political studies and the W. J. M. Mackenzie Book Prize for the best book published in political science during the preceding year. In 2000, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the PSA also awarded one-off Lifetime Achievement Awards to

Brian Barry Brian Barry, (7 August 1936 – 10 March 2009) was a moral and political philosopher. He was educated at the Queen's College, Oxford, obtaining the degrees of B.A. and D.Phil. under the direction of H. L. A. Hart. Along with David Braybrooke ...

Jean Blondel Jean Blondel (26 October 1929 – 25 December 2022) was a French political scientist specialising in comparative politics. He was Emeritus Professor at the European University Institute in Florence, and visiting professor at the University of Sie ...

, David Butler,

Bernard Crick Sir Bernard Rowland Crick (16 December 1929 – 19 December 2008) was a British political theorist and democratic socialist whose views can be summarised as "politics is ethics done in public". He sought to arrive at a "politics of action", as ...

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

Stanley Hoffmann Stanley Hoffmann (27 November 1928 – 13 September 2015) was a French political scientist and the Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser University Professor at Harvard University, specializing in French politics and society, European politics, U. ...

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...

, and Richard Rose. In 2012, Professor Vicky Randall, who served as chair of the association from 2008 until 2011, was granted a Special Recognition Award in honour of “her tireless work integrating gender analysis into political science and her efforts to secure fairer representation of women in political life and the study of politics”. The Political Studies Association, 27Nov2019

References

External links

Homepage of the PSAPolitics journal homepagePolitical Studies journal homepagePolitical Studies Review journal homepageBritish Journal of Politics and International Relations journal homepagePolitical Insight journal homepage
{{authority control Learned societies of the United Kingdom Organisations based in the London Borough of Camden Organizations established in 1950 Political science organizations 1950 establishments in the United Kingdom