The Political Studies Association was founded in 1950, following the establishment of the International Political Science Association in 1949, with the aim of developing and promoting the study of politics in the UK and globally. Since 1950 the PSA has supported countless academics and helped the discipline flourish.
Celebrating 75 years of the PSA
In 2025 we have celebrated our 75th anniversary with the introduction of appointing PSA Founding Fellows who have made a significant contribution to the Association and to Political Studies more broadly. At our 2025 Annual Conference we had a film-maker in residence who produced our 75th Anniversary Film. We also made available a special Excellence & Impact Fund to support innovative projects that demonstrate and deliver impact within political studies research and practice.
You can also read the 75 most cited PSA articles published between between 1 January 2003 and 1 August 2025.
A history of the organisation was published in 2010 in The Development of a Discipline by Wyn Grant. You can also see more from our archives by viewing our 50th Anniversary publication.
Click here to read “Disciplining Politics: The PSA at 70” – a historical retrospective of our organisation written by two former chairs (Angela Wilson and Wyn Grant) published in our Political Insight magazine in June 2020.
If you have any fond memories of the PSA from years gone by that you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you – please send any photos or anecdotes to our team on [email protected].
PSA Chairs (Vice-Presidents)
Norman Chester (1950-57)
K.B. Smellie (1957-60)
W.J.M. MacKenzie (1960-63)
Wilfrid Harrison (1963-65)
S.E. Finer (1965-69)
Graeme Moodie (1969-72)
A.H. Birch (1972-75)
J.E.S. Hayward (1975-77)
Hugh Berrington (1977-80)
Geraint Parry (1980-83)
Maurice M. Goldsmith (1983-86)
Raymond Plant (1986-88)
Trevor Smith (1988-89)
M.J.F. Goldsmith (1989-93)
Elizabeth Meehan (1993-96)
Ian Forbes (1996-99)
Rod Rhodes (1999-2001)
Wyn Grant (2002-04)
Jon Tonge (2005-07)
Vicky Randall (2008-11)
Charlie Jeffery (2012-14)
Matt Flinders (2014-17)
Angie Wilson (2017-20)
Roger Awan-Scully (2020-23) Current PSA President
PSA Conferences
Each year we host the PSA International Annual Conference. Participants come from all over the globe to present their research and we’ve travel the length and breadth of the UK to our host cities and institutions.
2000 LSE
2001 Manchester
2002 Aberdeen
2003 Leicester
2004 Lincoln
2005 Leeds
2006 Reading
2007 Bath
2008 Swansea
2009 Manchester
2010 Edinburgh
2011 London
2012 Belfast
2013 Cardiff
2014 Manchester
2015 Sheffield
2016 Brighton
2017 Glasgow
2018 Cardiff
2019 Nottingham
2020 Edinburgh
2021 Belfast
2022 York
2023 Liverpool
2024 Glasgow – Strathclyde
2025 Birmingham
2026 Oxford