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 academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

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 ...

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 in 1949, and was initially supported by a grant from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

. 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 The ''British Journal of Politics and International Relations'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the Political Studies Association. It was established in 1999. Until 2016, the journal was p ...

'' * ''Political Insight'' * '' Political Studies'': 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 journalis ...

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, ...

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 William James Millar Mackenzie CBE FBA (1909–1996), also known as Bill Mackenzie, was professor of government at the University of Manchester and professor of politics at the University of Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of ...

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,

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,

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British 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 remains the longe ...

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 from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

, Stanley Hoffmann,

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 Richard Rose may refer to: * Richard Rose (mystic) (1917–2005), American mystic, esoteric philosopher, author, poet, and investigator of paranormal phenomena *Richard Rose (political scientist) (born 1933), American political scientist and profess ...

. 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