Western Political Science Association

Western Political Science Association
Name	Western Political Science Association
Abbreviation	WPSA
Formation	1947
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	United States
Region served	Western United States; North America
Leader title	President

Western Political Science Association The Western Political Science Association is a regional learned society for political scientists and related scholars in the western United States and adjoining regions. It convenes academics, practitioners, and students through annual meetings, publications, and awards, fostering scholarship connected to comparative politics, international relations, public law, and political theory. The association situates its activities within a constellation of professional organizations and universities, engaging with disciplinary networks across North America and global research communities.

History

Founded in the aftermath of World War II during a period of institutional consolidation in the social sciences, the association traces its origins to scholars seeking regional coordination comparable to American Political Science Association and Midwest Political Science Association. Early figures associated with the group included faculty who had ties to institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, University of Washington, University of Southern California, and University of Arizona. Over subsequent decades the association navigated Cold War-era debates exemplified by contests over behavioralism and realism that echoed controversies at Columbia University and Harvard University. The expansion of higher education after the G.I. Bill and the rise of area studies programs influenced panels and membership from centers like University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Santa Barbara, and University of Colorado Boulder. In the 1970s and 1980s the association reflected broader transformations also visible at American Civil Liberties Union forums and debates related to Watergate scandal, encouraging methodological pluralism. Recent decades witnessed increased engagement with comparative work involving scholars affiliated with University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, and institutions in the Pacific Rim as transnational networks grew alongside initiatives at Council on Foreign Relations and international research centers.

Organization and Governance

The association is governed by an elected leadership that includes a president, vice president, and an executive council, modeled on governance patterns seen at American Political Science Association and Association of American Universities. Committees resembling those at National Science Foundation panels oversee programmatic review, awards, and ethics. Governance documents guide elections conducted among members from universities such as Arizona State University and University of Oregon, and the association collaborates with institutional partners including libraries at University of California, Davis and research offices at University of Nevada, Reno. Bylaws delineate roles for section chairs drawn from departments at University of California, Irvine, San Diego State University, and other campuses, while financial oversight incorporates practices similar to endowment management at Ford Foundation-funded projects.

Conferences and Meetings

The association’s flagship event is an annual conference that rotates across cities historically hosted in metropolitan areas like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, and Portland, Oregon. Program committees curate panels featuring comparative scholars from centers such as London School of Economics, Sciences Po, University of Oxford, and regional specialists affiliated with University of Hawaii at Manoa and University of New Mexico. The meeting formats include section panels modeled after symposia at American Political Science Association conventions, roundtables reflecting practices at International Studies Association gatherings, and workshops akin to those organized by Social Science Research Council. Keynote speakers have included scholars with connections to institutions like Princeton University, Yale University, University of Chicago, and think tanks such as Brookings Institution and Rand Corporation. The conference serves as a venue for book launches tied to university presses including Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.

Publications and Awards

The association endorses refereed venues and prizes that parallel awards at American Political Science Association and recognition lists like Guggenheim Fellowship recipients. While the association itself does not publish a flagship journal bearing its name, it promotes special issues and edited volumes produced with presses including University of California Press and Routledge. Awards recognize early-career scholars and outstanding dissertations, drawing parallels to honors such as the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award and the V.O. Key Jr. Book Award. The organization maintains lists of distinguished lecturers and editors affiliated with journals like American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, International Organization, and Comparative Political Studies.

Membership and Chapters

Membership comprises faculty, graduate students, and practitioners affiliated with campuses across the western region, including University of Utah, University of Colorado Denver, Boise State University, California State University, Long Beach, and private institutions such as Pepperdine University and Claremont Graduate University. The association supports formal and informal chapters corresponding to geographic clusters found at consortia like Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and collaborates with student organizations connected to departments at University of Montana and University of Idaho. Membership categories mirror practices at scholarly societies such as American Historical Association and allow for institutional subscriptions, emeritus status, and student rates.

Research and Impact

Scholarship presented under the association’s auspices has influenced curricular developments and research trajectories across fields tied to comparative politics, international relations, public law, and political theory, intersecting with policy debates at Legislative Research Committees and think tanks including Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Papers first delivered at annual meetings have gone on to publication in journals like American Political Science Review and books published by Princeton University Press and Stanford University Press. The association’s role in mentoring graduate students and connecting regional scholars has paralleled contributions by networks such as Association for Women in Mathematics and Society for Personality and Social Psychology in their respective disciplines, and its convenings continue to shape research agendas addressing regional politics, transnational governance, and comparative institutions across North America, the Pacific, and beyond.

Category:Political science organizations