The Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom (PSA) is an association of political scientists that exists to develop and promote the study of politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It is the leading association in its field in the UK, with an international membership including academics in political science and current affairs, theorists and practitioners, policy makers, researchers and students in higher education.

Founding

The PSA was founded in 1950, following the establishment of the International Political Science Association

International Political Science Association

The International Political Science Association , 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...

 in 1949, and was initially supported by a grant from UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

.

Publications

The PSA publishes four journals:

• British Journal of Politics and International Relations
• Political Studies
  Political Studies (journal)
  Political Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal of political science established in 1953 and published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Political Studies Association. The journal's approach is, according to its editors, not dominated by a particular methodological or theoretical...
  
  : 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: 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.

Awards

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

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

s and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

s. In 2000, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the PSA also awarded one-off Lifetime Achievement Awards to Brian Barry

Brian Barry

Brian Barry FBA 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....

, Jean Blondel

Jean Blondel

Jean Blondel is a French political scientist specialising in comparative politics. He is currently Emeritus Professor at the European University Institute in Florence, and visiting professor at the University of Siena....

, David Butler, Bernard Crick

Bernard Crick

Sir Bernard Rowland Crick was a British political theorist and democratic socialist whose views were often summarised as "politics is ethics done in public"...

, Stanley Hoffmann

Stanley Hoffmann

Stanley Hoffmann is the Paul and Catherine Buttenweiser University Professor at Harvard University.-Biography:A French citizen since 1947, Hoffmann spent his childhood between Paris and Nice before studying at the Institut d'études politiques...

 and Richard Rose

Richard Rose (political scientist)

Richard Rose is an American political scientist who is currently Director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policy and Professor of Politics at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He studied as an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University and completed his PhD at the University of Oxford...

.

PSA Specialist Groups

The PSA has a network of over forty "Specialist Groups" that provide a research focus for members and receive support from the PSA. Examples of these groups include:

Anarchist Studies Network

The principal aim of the Anarchist Studies Network is to coordinate and promote the re-investigation of anarchism as a political ideology. As of 2011, the group was administered by Ruth Kinna

Ruth Kinna

Ruth Ellen Kinna is a politics lecturer at Loughborough University, working in the Department of Politics, History and International Relations where she specialises in political philosophy. Since 2007 she has been the editor of the journal Anarchist Studies....

 (Convenor), Alex Prichard (Convenor and Secretary) and Alexandre Christoyannopoulos

Alexandre Christoyannopoulos

Alexandre J.M.E. Christoyannopoulos is a French–Greek author, politics lecturer and Christian pacifist. He currently lectures at Loughborough University, England...

(Treasurer).