About the Conference

The 62nd Annual Conference of the Political Studies Association will be hosted by the University of Ulster. The conference will be held in and around Belfast city centre, including the vibrant Cathedral Quarter. This area of Belfast has a rich historical and political character, and is packed with fascinating architecture. The Cathedral Quarter is full of artistic spaces, cosy bars and trendy nightclubs. In the 19th century and early 20th century it was a popular site for citizens of the city to engage in spontaneous and lively debate on the political issues of the day, making it an ideal location for this year's conference - In Defence of Politics. The conference welcomed contributions on all aspects of political research but particularly those which addressed these broad themes:

• In Praise of Politics and Why We Hate Politics
• The Purpose of Political Science – in education, research and policy formation
• Ethics and Politics- questions of integrity, accountability, honesty, and disclosure in political activity and also political research
• Conflict and Conciliation – approaches to political negotiation and struggle, from theoretical and empirical perspectives
• The People’s Politics – the changing landscape of political engagement and protest
• Politics: Looking Back or Looking Forward – the extent to which politics looks back as well as forward, and what this says about modern political trends
• Leaders and Authority; Citizens and Consumerism – the interplay between elites, iconic figures and power brokers, and citizens, subjects and consumers

Panels and Papers

The peer-review process has now been completed and the conference programme is on-line here. All proposers of panels and papers should have received notification by email.

The lists of accepted workshops, panels, papers and posters may be viewed here:

• panels
• papers

There is also facility to find an author here.

For all queries, please email the PSA Web Master at the address below.

Registration and bookings

• Conference registration and on-line booking are on-line here. (NB: early-bird rates closed midnight GMT on 31 January 2012.)
• The final date for registration for paper-givers to be included in the conference programme is midnight GMT on 5 March 2012.
• Conference registration for all delegates will close at midnight GMT on 27 March 2012.

Instructions for paper-givers

Advice for paper-givers and the on-line paper upload facility are available here.

Postgraduate student support
Financial assistance may be available through the PSA Postgraduate Access Fund for student members of the Association who present at the conference. The form may be downloaded here [Word] [pdf]. For information about the Access Fund, please contact the PSA Events and Marketing Manager, Louise Bates.

Publishers' Exhibition

Application forms for spaces in the Publishers' Exhibition are available here [Word] [pdf]