Revisiting the Future of Political Studies through the ECN Experience at PSA26
Author: Dr. Aruni Samarakoon This blog aims to share my perspective, as a member of the Early Career Network (ECN), on my experience at the Political Studies Association general conference 2026, and to explore its connection to the future of Political Studies. While grounded in my individual reflections, this piece also engages with broader ECN perspectives, bringing them into a more collective conversation around key questions, why, what, and how the future of Political Studies can be reshaped. In doing so, the blog moves beyond a simple description of the event and instead critically engages with expectations of the discipline, […]
International Human Rights Day 2025
International Human Rights Day was observed worldwide on 10 December 2025. In recognition of this occasion, this blog highlights a recently acknowledged human right that directly concerns women and examines how this right is represented and upheld in today’s working world. In support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality, the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council in 2024 adopted a resolution on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). The resolution calls on UN member states to respect, protect, and fulfil their obligation to create environments that enable women—who constitute more than half of the global […]
Turkey’s Venezuela Test: Solidarity Talk and Power Politics
By Dr Begum Zorlu, City St George’s, University of London and Co-convener and chair of the PSA Turkish Politics Specialist Group The capture of Nicolás Maduro has exposed the limits of Ankara’s performative alliances and the constraints facing middle powers in an increasingly volatile international order. On January 3, 2026, US special forces carried out a dramatic military operation in Caracas, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transporting them to the United States, where they now face federal charges. Dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” the raid represented a US intervention in Latin America on a scale […]
Why study politics? An international student’s perspective
Yelyzaveta Yeroshkina 25 September 2025 Why does anyone study politics? Why does someone decide to get a degree in political science? What motivates students to dedicate 3 or 4 years of their life to this? No doubt a degree in politics can lead to a range of interesting careers. And what about those who can’t escape politics? During my first year studying International Relations at Edinburgh University I was exposed to a new world I didn’t know existed. I learned that there are theories of international relations, where realism and liberalism appear as the two most favoured. The other thing I was exposed to was […]
PSA25 Conference Highlights
This blog was written by the PSA25 Convening Team. With a theme of What Next? our 75th anniversary annual conference in Birmingham was our biggest and best yet! Taking place from 14 – 16 April and featuring over 200 sessions and nearly 900 delegates, conference highlights included; timely keynote talks given by Prof. Rosie Campbell (Kings College London) on political representation and shifting identities, culture wars and the quality of democracy, Prof. Nicole Curato (University of Birmingham) asking if democracy can survive the broligarchy, and Prof. Anand Menon (Kings College London) and the BBC’s Political Correspondent Ben Wright in-conversation […]