American Political Science Association
Encyclopedia
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
students and scholars in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s (American Political Science Review
American Political Science Review
The American Political Science Review is the flagship publication of the American Political Science Association and is the most prestigious journal in political science according to the ISI 2004 Journal Citation Report...
, Perspectives on Politics
Perspectives on Politics
Perspectives on Politics is one of the leading journals in the academic field of political science. It is published by Cambridge University Press for the American Political Science Association...
, and PS: Political Science & Politics
PS Political Science & Politics
PS: Political Science & Politics provides critical analysis of contemporary political phenomena and is the journal of record for the discipline of political science reporting on research, teaching, and professional development...
). APSA Organized Sections publish or are associated with 15 additional journals.
APSA presidents serve one-year terms: the current president is Carole Pateman
Carole Pateman
Carole Pateman is a British feminist and political theorist. She earned a DPhil at the University of Oxford. Since 1990, Professor Pateman has taught in the Department of Political Science at the University of California at Los Angeles . In 2007, she was named a Fellow of the British Academy...
of University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, who later became president of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, was APSA president in 1911. APSA has its headquarters at 1527 New Hampshire Avenue
New Hampshire Avenue
New Hampshire Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., beginning at the Kennedy Center and extending northeast for about 5 miles and then continuing into Maryland where it is designated Maryland Route 650. New Hampshire Avenue, however, is not contiguous...
NW in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in a historic building that was the home of Harry Garfield, son of President James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
and president of the association from 1921 to 1922.
APSA administers the Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs, which provides conference and research space for scholars, and Pi Sigma Alpha
Pi sigma alpha
Pi Sigma Alpha , the National Political Science Honor Society, is the only honor society for college and university students of political science in the United States. Its purpose is to recognize and promote high academic achievement in the field of political science...
, the honor society
Honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...
for political science students. APSA also periodically sponsors seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
s and other events for political scientists, policymakers, the media, and the general public.
To recognize excellence in the profession, the Association offers annual awards for:
- Dissertation Awards
- Paper and Article Awards
- Book Awards
- Career Awards
- Goodnow Award
- Teaching Award and Campus Teaching Award Recognition
In addition to the APSA awards, the APSA organized sections also present over 100 awards at every Annual Meeting to recognize important research and contributions to the profession. These awards are presented at the Association's Annual Meeting. More on Award Descriptions and Nomination Information
A key part of APSA's mission is to enable political scientists to connect an environment conducive to teaching, research, and practice in all fields of political science and to ensure support necessary for the discipline to thrive. APSA conducts several annual conferences, which provides this environment for scholars and other professionals to network and present their work, along with other pertinent and useful resources. The APSA Annual Meeting is among the world's largest gatherings of political scientists. It occurs on Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
weekend each summer. The 2007 meeting in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
drew 6,900 participants. The 2008 annual meeting was in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and the 2009 meeting was in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(September 3-6). The 2010 meeting was in Washington, DC on September 2-5, 2010. The 2011 Annual Meeting is in Seattle, Washington.
The APSA Teaching and Learning Conference is a smaller working group conference hosting cutting-edge approaches, techniques, and methodologies for the political science classroom. The conference provides a forum for scholars to share effective and innovative teaching and learning models and to discuss broad themes and values of political science education--especially the scholarship of teaching and learning.
With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
, APSA Africa Workshops APSA has organized political science workshops in various locations in Africa. The first workshop was convened in Dakar, Senegal in partnership with the West African Research Center from July 6-27, 2008. The second workshop was convened in Accra, Ghana in partnership with the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon from June 21-July 10. The 2010 APSA residential workshop on Global Perspectives on Politics and Gender will be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The annual residential workshops are led by a joint U.S. and African organizing team and aimed at mid-and junior-level scholars residing in Africa. They will enhance the capacities of political scientists and their resources in East and West Africa while also providing a forum for supporting their ongoing research. Each three week workshop brings together up to 30 scholars and cover substantive issues, methodologies, and reviews of research.
Presidents of the American Political Science Association
- Frank J. Goodnow, 1904-1905
- Albert Shaw, 1905-1906
- Frederick N. Judson, 1906-1907
- James BryceJames Bryce, 1st Viscount BryceJames Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce OM, GCVO, PC, FRS, FBA was a British academic, jurist, historian and Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
, 1907-1908 - Abbott Lawrence LowellAbbott Lawrence LowellAbbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
, 1908-1909 - Woodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, 1909-1910 - Simeon E. Baldwin, 1910-1911
- Albert Bushnell HartAlbert Bushnell HartAlbert Bushnell Hart, Ph.D. , was an American historian, writer, and teacher. One of the first generation of professionally trained historians in the United States, a prolific author and editor of historical works, Albert Bushnell Hart became, as Samuel Eliot Morison described him, "The Grand Old...
, 1911-1912 - Westel W. WilloughbyWestel W. WilloughbyWestel Woodbury Willoughby , was an American academic.He was the twin brother to William F. Willoughby. They were the sons of Westel Willoughby and Jennie Rebecca Willoughby, their father having been a Major in the Union Army with the New York Volunteers, injured at the Battle of Chancellorsville...
, 1912-1913 - John Bassett MooreJohn Bassett MooreJohn Bassett Moore was an American authority on international law who was a member of the Hague Tribunal and the first US judge to serve on the Permanent Court of International Justice ....
, 1913-1914 - Ernst FreundErnst FreundErnst Freund was a noted American legal scholar. He received a Dr. Jur. from the University of Heidelberg ; a Ph. D. in political science from Columbia University He was professor of political science at the University of Chicago and professor of law at Chicago . He was John P...
, 1914-1915 - Jesse MacyJesse MacyJesse Macy was an American political scientist and historian of the late 19th and early 20th century, specializing in the history of American political parties, party systems, and the Civil War...
, 1915-1916 - Munroe SmithMunroe SmithEdmund Munroe Smith , was an American jurist and historian.-Family and education:Smith was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Horatio Southgate Smith and his wife, Susan Dwight Munroe. He received his A.B. from Amherst College in 1874 and his LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1877. In 1879,...
, 1916-1917 - Henry Jones FordHenry Jones FordHenry Jones Ford was a political scientist, journalist, university professor, and government official.-Biography:Ford worked as a managing editor and editorial writer from 1872 to 1905, at six different newspapers in three cities .Later returning to Baltimore , Ford taught at Johns Hopkins...
, 1917-1918 - Paul Samuel ReinschPaul Samuel ReinschPaul Samuel Reinsch , was an American political scientist and diplomat. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin of German-American parents...
, 1918-1919 - Leo S. Rowe, 1919-1920
- William A. Dunning, 1920-1921
- Harry A. Garfield, 1921-1922
- James Wilford GarnerJames Wilford GarnerJames Wilford Garner, Ph. D. was an American professor of political science....
, 1923-1924 - Charles E. Merriam, 1924-1923
- Charles A. BeardCharles A. BeardCharles Austin Beard was, with Frederick Jackson Turner, one of the most influential American historians of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science...
, 1925-1924 - William Bennett Munro, 1926-1925
- Jesse S. Reeves, 1927-1926
- John A. Fairlie, 1928-1927
- Benjamin F. Shambaugh, 1929-1928
- Edward S. Corwin, 1930-1929
- William F. WilloughbyWilliam F. WilloughbyWilliam Franklin Willoughby was an author of public administration texts including works on budgeting. He often worked with his twin brother, Westel W...
, 1931-1932 - Isidor Loeb, 1932-1933
- Walter J. Shepard, 1933-1934
- Francis W. Coker, 1934-1935
- Arthur N. HolcombeArthur N. HolcombeArthur Norman Holcombe was an American historian, and educator.-Life:He received a BA at Harvard University in 1906 and a Ph.D. in 1909. On August 30, 1910, he married Carolyn H. Crossett. They had five children...
, 1935-1936 - Thomas Reed Powell, 1936-1937
- Clarence A. Dykstra, 1937-1938
- Charles Grove Haines, 1938-1939
- Robert C. Brooks, 1939-1940
- Frederic A. Ogg, 1940-1941
- William AndersonWilliam Anderson (political scientist)William Anderson was a U.S. political scientist, who served on national commissions in the 1940s and 1950s....
, 1941-1942 - Robert E. Cushman, 1942-1943
- Leonard D. WhiteLeonard D. WhiteLeonard Dupee White was a historian of the field of public administration in the United States. His technique was to study administration in the context of grouped U.S. presidential periods. An important founder of the field, White worked at the University of Chicago after service in the...
, 1943-1944 - John Gaus, 1944-1945
- Walter F. DoddWalter F. DoddWalter Fairleigh Dodd was a professor in the political science department at Johns Hopkins University who wrote "one of the most important books on the process of amending state constitutions."-Biography:...
, 1945-1946 - Arthur W. MacMahon, 1946-1947
- Henry R. Spencer, 1947-1948
- Quincy WrightQuincy WrightPhilip Quincy Wright was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work and expertise in international law and international relations.- Biography :...
, 1948-1949 - James K. Pollock, 1949-1950
- Peter H. Odegard, 1950-1951
- Luther GulickLuther Gulick (social scientist)-Life:Luther Halsey Gulick was born January 17, 1892 in Osaka, Japan.His father was congregationalist missionary Sidney Lewis Gulick and his mother was Clara May Gulick. He shared his name with his grandfather, missionary Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. , and uncle physician Luther Halsey Gulick Jr....
, 1951-1952 - E. Pendleton HerringE. Pendleton HerringE. Pendleton Herring was an American political scientist who served as Director of the Bureau of the Budget, as Secretary of graduate education at Harvard University, and in numerous other academic and public roles...
, 1952-1953 - Ralph J. Bunche, 1953-1954
- Charles McKinley, 1954-1955
- Harold D. Lasswell, 1955-1956
- E.E. Schattschneider, 1956-1957
- V.O. Key, Jr., 1957-1958
- R. Taylor Cole, 1958-1959
- Carl B. Swisher, 1959-1960
- Emmette S. Redford, 1960-1961
- Charles S. Hyneman, 1961-1962
- Carl J. Friedrich, 1962-1963
- C. Herman Pritchett, 1963-1964
- David B. Truman, 1964-1965
- Gabriel A. Almond, 1965-1966
- Robert A. DahlRobert A. DahlRobert Alan Dahl , is the Sterling Professor emeritus of political science at Yale University, where he earned his Ph.D. in political science in 1940. He is past president of the American Political Science Association...
, 1966-1967 - Merle FainsodMerle FainsodMerle Fainsod was an American political scientist best known for his work on public administration and as a scholar of the Soviet Union...
, 1967-1968 - David EastonDavid EastonDavid Easton is a Canadian political scientist who was born in Toronto, Ontario, went to the United States in 1943, and is currently Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine.He is a former President of the American Political...
, 1968-1969 - Karl W. Deutsch, 1969-1970
- Robert E. Lane, 1970-1971
- Heinz Eulau, 1971-1972
- Robert E. Ward, 1972-1973
- Avery Leiserson, 1973-1974
- Austin Ranney, 1974-1975
- James MacGregor BurnsJames MacGregor BurnsJames MacGregor Burns is an historian and political scientist, presidential biographer, and authority on leadership studies. He is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the of the School of Public Policy at the University...
, 1975-1976 - Samuel H. Beer, 1976-1977
- John C. Wahlke, 1977-1978
- Leon D. Epstein, 1978-1979
- Warren E. Miller, 1979-1980
- Charles E. LindblomCharles E. LindblomCharles Edward Lindblom is a Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Economics at Yale University. He is a former president of the American Political Science Association and the Association for Comparative Economic Studies and also a former director of Yale's Institution for Social...
, 1980-1981 - Seymour Martin LipsetSeymour Martin LipsetSeymour Martin Lipset was an American political sociologist, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and the Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and...
, 1981-1982 - William H. RikerWilliam H. RikerWilliam Harrison Riker was an American political scientist who applied game theory and mathematics to political science....
, 1982-1983 - Philip E. Converse, 1983-1984
- Richard F. Fenno, Jr.Richard FennoRichard F. Fenno, Jr. is an American political scientist known for his pioneering work on the U.S. Congress and its members....
, 1984-1985 - Aaron B. Wildavsky, 1985-1986
- Samuel P. HuntingtonSamuel P. HuntingtonSamuel Phillips Huntington was an influential American political scientist who wrote highly-regarded books in a half-dozen sub-fields of political science, starting in 1957...
, 1986-1987 - Kenneth N. Waltz, 1987-1988
- Lucian W. Pye, 1988-1989
- Judith N. ShklarJudith N. ShklarJudith Nisse Shklar was a political theorist, and the John Cowles Professor of Government at Harvard University.-Biography:...
, 1989-1990 - Theodore J. LowiTheodore J. LowiTheodore J. Lowi is the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions teaching in the Government Department at Cornell University. His area of research is the American government and public policy.-Biography:...
, 1990-1991 - James Q. WilsonJames Q. WilsonJames Q. Wilson is an American academic political scientist and an authority on public administration. He is a professor and senior fellow at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College....
, 1991-1992 - Lucius J. Barker, 1992-1993
- Charles O. JonesCharles O. JonesCharles O. Jones is Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Guggenheim fellow...
, 1993-1994 - Sidney VerbaSidney VerbaSidney Verba is an American political scientist, librarian and library administrator. His academic interests are mainly American and comparative politics. He was the Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor at Harvard University. He also served Harvard as the director of the Harvard University...
, 1994-1995 - Arend LijphartArend LijphartArend d'Angremond Lijphart is a world renowned political scientist specializing in comparative politics, elections and voting systems, democratic institutions, and ethnicity and politics. He received his PhD in Political Science at Yale University in 1963, after studying at the University of...
, 1995-1996 - Elinor OstromElinor OstromElinor Ostrom is an American political economist. She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which she shared with Oliver E. Williamson, for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons." She was the first, and to date, the only woman to win the prize in...
, 1996-1997 - M. Kent Jennings, 1997-1998
- Matthew Holden Jr., 1998-1999
- Robert O. KeohaneRobert KeohaneRobert O. Keohane is an American academic, who, following the publication of his influential book After Hegemony , became widely associated with the theory of neoliberal institutionalism in international relations...
, 1999-2000 - Robert JervisRobert JervisRobert Jervis is the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Affairs at Columbia University, and has been a member of the faculty since 1980. Jervis was the recipient of the 1990 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order...
, 2000-2001 - Robert PutnamRobert PutnamRobert David Putnam is a political scientist and professor of public policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is also visiting professor and director of the Manchester Graduate Summer Programme in Social Change, University of Manchester...
, 2001-2002 - Theda SkocpolTheda SkocpolTheda Skocpol is an American sociologist and political scientist at Harvard University. She served from 2005 to 2007 as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She is influential in sociology as an advocate of the historical-institutional and comparative approaches, and well-known in...
, 2002-2003 - Susanne Hoeber Rudolph, 2003-2004
- Margaret LeviMargaret LeviMargaret Levi is an American political scientist and author, noted for her work in comparative political economy, labor politics, and democratic theory, notably on the origins and effects of trustworthy government....
, 2004-2005 - Ira KatznelsonIra KatznelsonIra Katznelson is a leading American political scientist and historian, noted for his influential research on the liberal state, inequality, social knowledge, and institutions, primarily focused on the United States....
, 2005-2006 - Robert AxelrodRobert AxelrodRobert M. Axelrod is an American political scientist. He is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan where he has been since 1974. He is best known for his interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation, which has been cited in numerous articles...
, 2006-2007 - Dianne PinderhughesDianne PinderhughesDianne Pinderhughes is Full Professor in the Departments of Africana Studies and Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, and former President of the American Political Science Association. She holds a B.A. from Albertus Magnus College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the...
, 2007-2008 - Peter Katzenstein, 2008-2009
- Henry Brady, 2009-2010
- Carole PatemanCarole PatemanCarole Pateman is a British feminist and political theorist. She earned a DPhil at the University of Oxford. Since 1990, Professor Pateman has taught in the Department of Political Science at the University of California at Los Angeles . In 2007, she was named a Fellow of the British Academy...
, 2010-2011 - G. Bingham Powell, 2011-2012 (president-elect)
View Presidential Addresses, 1903-present
APSA Organized Sections
APSA members may also join the 38 membership organized sections focused around research themes in political science.- 1. Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations
- 2. Law and Courts
- 3. Legislative Studies
- 4. Public Policy
- 5. Political Organizations and Parties
- 6. Public Administration
- 7. Conflict Processes
- 8. Representation and Electoral Systems
- 9. Presidency Research
- 10. Political Methodology
- 11. Religion and Politics
- 13. Urban Politics
- 15. Science, Technology and Environmental Politics
- 16. Women and Politics Research
- 17. Foundations of Political Theory
- 18. Information Technology and Politics
- 19. International Security and Arms Control
- 20. Comparative Politics
- 21. European Politics and Society
- 22. State Politics and Policy
- 23. Political Communication
- 24. Politics and History
- 25. Political Economy
- 27. New Political ScienceCaucus for a New Political ScienceThe Caucus for a New Political Science was first founded in 1967 as a caucus, and then a formal section, within the American Political Science Association . APSA is the official professional organization of political scientists in the United States, with over 15,000 members worldwide. CNPS’...
- 28. Political Psychology
- 29. Political Science Education
- 30. Politics, Literature, and Film
- 31. Foreign Policy
- 32. Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior
- 33. Race, Ethnicity and Politics
- 34. International History and Politics
- 35. Comparative Democratization
- 36. Human Rights
- 37. Qualitative and Multi-method Research
- 38. Sexuality and Politics
- 39. Health Politics and Policy
- 40. Canadian Politics
- 41. Political Networks
Note: the numbers above represent the official number for the sections. The missing sections/numbers (e.g. 12) represent sections that disbanded.
External links
- Official site
- Current APSA Council and Governance
- APSA Reports and Activities
- Past Presidents and Presidential Addresses, 1903-present
- APSA Organized Sections
- African American Political Scientists Oral History Project: Pi Sigma Alpha - American Political Science Association Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries