Political Science Quarterly

Political Science Quarterly is a peer-reviewed periodical published by the Academy of Political Science that examines issues in American and international affairs through scholarly articles, essays, and reviews. Founded in the late 19th century, the journal has hosted contributions from scholars, statespeople, and commentators associated with institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University and Georgetown University. Its pages have addressed events and institutions including the Spanish–American War, the League of Nations, the United Nations, the Cold War, and the War on Terror.

History

The journal was established in 1886 amid debates following the Haymarket affair and the broader era of the Gilded Age, emerging alongside periodicals like The Atlantic Monthly and The Nation. Early issues engaged with policy debates tied to figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and William McKinley and examined treaties like the Treaty of Paris (1898) and the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion. During the interwar period the journal featured analysis related to the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Fascism, and scholarly responses to the Great Depression. In the mid-20th century contributions evaluated institutions such as the Marshall Plan and assessed crises like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Korean War. From the late 20th century into the 21st, coverage expanded to include topics associated with European Union, NATO, World Trade Organization, and responses to the 9/11 attacks.

Editorial Leadership and Contributors

Editorial stewardship has included editors and board members affiliated with centers and schools like the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Hoover Institution. Contributors have ranged from academicians at Stanford University, University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley to practitioners associated with the US Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Defense. Notable contributors over time have engaged with topics linked to individuals and events such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and organizations including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Scope and Content

The journal publishes articles, review essays, and book reviews addressing domestic and international issues connected to institutions such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Congress, the White House, and foreign counterparts like the Bundestag and the Russian State Duma. It has featured scholarship on conflicts and agreements including the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Falklands War, the Oslo Accords, and the Iran nuclear deal framework. Thematic coverage has engaged with landmark rulings like Brown v. Board of Education and legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Affordable Care Act, while comparative pieces have considered systems in countries including China, India, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia.

Publication and Access

Produced on a quarterly schedule, the journal operates under the auspices of the Academy of Political Science with distribution to subscribers, university libraries, and digital platforms aligned with library aggregators and indexing services like JSTOR and major abstracting services. Back issues provide contemporary perspectives on episodes such as the Spanish Civil War, the Suez Crisis, the Iran–Iraq War, and the post-Cold War interventions in Kosovo and Iraq. The publication model includes peer review and editorial selection processes similar to those used by titles like American Political Science Review and Foreign Affairs.

Impact and Reception

Over its history the journal has been cited in debates involving policymakers and institutions such as the United States Congress and the United Nations Security Council and has informed scholarship referenced alongside works published by presses like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Princeton University Press, and Harvard University Press. Its influence is reflected in citations in legal opinions, policy white papers from the Rand Corporation and the Brookings Institution, and historiographical treatments of periods including the Progressive Era and the Postwar economic expansion. Reviews and retrospectives have compared its editorial stance and reach with periodicals such as Foreign Policy, The Economist, and The New Republic.

Category:Political science journals