IPSA Newsletter February 2012

IPSA News

22nd IPSA World Congress of Political Science, Madrid (Spain)

Early Bird Registration Deadline: March 11

The early bird registration deadline is fast approaching! All participants, including session chairs, panel chairs, discussants and paper givers, must register by March 11 to have their names included in the printed program.

Participants must be IPSA members through 2012 to register.

Early bird registration fees are as follows:

• IPSA Member (valid through 2012): $250 USD • IPSA Student Member (valid through 2012): $75 USD *Requires proof of student status at the time of registration.

After March 11, the following increases will apply:

• IPSA Member (valid through 2012): $300 USD • IPSA Student Member (valid through 2012): $100 USD *Requires proof of student status at the time of registration.

Deadline to Finalize Online Abstract Descriptions – March 30

All panel convenors and paper authors must finalize their online abstract descriptions by March 30. A reminder email citing guidelines on proper capitalization and title length will be forwarded on March 1.

The International Encyclopedia of Political Science Receives the Dartmouth Medal Honorable Mention Certificate

IPSA is very proud to announce that its very own International Encyclopedia of Political Science, published in association with Sage Reference, won the 2012 Dartmouth Medal Honorable Mention Certificate presented by the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association.

2012 Recipients

Green's Dictionary of Slang (Chambers) Honorable Mention: International Encyclopedia of Political Science Lifetime Achievement Award: Statistical Abstract of the United States (United States Department of Commerce)

Established in 1974, Dartmouth Medal recognizes a reference work of outstanding quality and significance first published or made available during the calendar year preceding the presentation of the award. Dartmouth Medal Honorable Mention certificates may also be presented.

At the suggestion of Dartmouth College librarian Dean Lathem, Dartmouth College established sponsorship of the award in 1974. World-renowned graphic artist Rudolph Ruzicka was commissioned to design the bronze medal – which features Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom who presided over the arts and sciences, against a filigree of olive branches.

With entries from leading international scholars, the International Encyclopedia of Political Science presents a comprehensive picture of all aspects of political life, including theoretical foundations, and it features empirical findings from around the world. The eight volumes cover all of the main subdisciplines of political science in detail, including comparative politics, epistemology, political economy, political sociology, and international relations.

Entries are arranged in alphabetical order, and for ease of use each volume includes a list of entries by subject area.

The encyclopedia contains a detailed index as well as extensive bibliographical references. Also featured are about 80 entries on the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods in political science.

The democratization process will remain a vital topic during the 21st century, and the encyclopedia provides extensive coverage of its evolution as well as that of other political systems. Readers will find theoretical and empirical background details on other key issues such as global security, the relationship between religion and the state, and political issues related to gender and race/ethnicity.

The International Encyclopedia of Political Science provides an essential authoritative guide to political science in the 21st century, making it an invaluable resource for a global readership composed of researchers, students, citizens and policy-makers.

2012 IPSA Membership Renewal With more services to members than ever, IPSA has proudly launched its 2012 membership renewal campaign. We invite you to renew your membership or join our great organization.

For quick online registration, click on the image below.

IPSA members enjoy numerous benefits, see here for more details.

First IPSA-NUS Summer School for Research Methods in Social and Political Science (Singapore)

The International Political Science Association and the department of political science at the National University of Singapore are proud to announce the first IPSA-NUS Summer School for Research Methods in Social and Political Science.

The first event of its kind in Asia, the school runs from June 25 to July 6, 2012, at the National University of Singapore. It offers intensive training in advanced social science research methods, and all courses are given by outstanding faculty from the U.S. and Europe with relevant teaching experience.

While the summer school is geared primarily to graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty working in the social sciences, anyone intent on improving their qualitative or quantitative research skills may enroll.

For details on courses, registration and scholarships, please visit http://sg-summerschool.ipsa.org/. If you have any questions, please contact Eugene Tan at ipsa@nus.edu.sg.

IPSA Leads the Way for the next ISSC World Social Science Forum

IPSA is pleased to announce that the International Social Science Council’s World Social Science Forum (WSSF) will take place in Montreal, Canada on the theme of “Social Transformation and the Digital Age.” This event runs from October 13 to 15, 2013.

Organized in partnership with a Canadian consortium led by the Montreal secretariat of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), the forum has received formal support from various sources, including the Prime Minister of Canada, the Premier of Quebec and two Quebec ministries, the Mayor of Montréal, Tourism Montreal, IPSA, and Montreal-based universities.

In keeping with the ISSC’s strategic objectives of ensuring synergy and continuity across its activities, the forum will draw on the theme of WSSF 2009 (“One Planet, Worlds apart”) and the “knowledge divides” highlighted in the 2010 World Social Science Report. It will also explore the opportunities, challenges and impacts presented by evolving digital world, specifically as they relate to society, industry, individuals and the environment. The event’s format is intended to illustrate and complement these themes and to offer innovative and inclusive “beyond-the-venue” links.

As part of ISSC efforts to ensure continuity, the 2013 WSSF will be linked to the 2015 edition of the forum, which will take place in South Africa. Its focus will be on themes of global justice.

Subsequent steps will include the establishment of the organizing committee and program committee for the 2013 forum.

http://www.worldsocialscience.org/

What’s new on the IPSAPortal?

News from the IPSAPortal:

1) The Political Corner team with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is closely following the 2012 republican leadership campaign in the U.S. Contents are available on the homepage, searchable by date, relevance and content type. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Political Corner’s Election Watch series, several specialists comment on campaign events, with Norman J. Ornstein weighing in on the debates, and Karlyn Bowman and Andrew Rugg commenting on the incumbent. (Research Institutes on the IPSAPortal)

2) The 2012 Project promoted by the Center for American Women and Politics is intended to increase the number of electing women in the United States in Congressional and state legislatures. The project seeks to promote political engagement on the part of women by directly outreaching, mobilizing state-based coalitions, and creating a large-scale public education campaign. (Research Institutes on the IPSAPortal)

3) The 2012 French Presidential elections will be followed by SciencesPo researchers, whose assessments will be available in real time on the official website. The Centre des Recherches Poliques runs the main section of Election 2012, uploading in-depth analyses and comments. (Schools and Department on the IPSAPortal)

4) The most recent edition of World Policy Journal hosts a debate on faith, described as “a battleground that’s publicly – often violently – contested.” On this occasion, the blog has published a caricature of the King of Morocco drawn by Damien Glez, a Burkina Faso-based cartoonist who works for World Policy Journal, which is published by El Pais, Spain’s leading daily, and banned by the government of Morocco. (Thematic Networks on the IPSAPortal)

5) The first 2012 edition of West European Politics focuses on Europeanization, parity, perspectives and challenges, with some case studies. (Journal Feeds on the IPSAPortal)

IPSR Special Issue on the Quality of Democracy: FREE Online Access

We are pleased to announce that online access to the recent special issue of the International Political Science Review (Volume 35, Issue 5) on the quality of democracy in Asia-Pacific (edited by Leonardo Morlino, Björn Dressel and Riccardo Pelizzo) is free of charge until the end of March 2012.

Contributors assess the quality of democracy in Asia-Pacific on the basis of quantitative and qualitative data from an eight-country study with the objective of contributing to the debate both empirically and conceptually. On an empirical level, the project, to the best of our knowledge, marks the first attempt to apply the analytical framework developed elsewhere by Morlino and his colleagues to the assessment of democratic qualities in Asia-Pacific countries. On a conceptual level, the study advances the debate in two important respects: First, the project brings renewed rigour to assessments of democracy by combining quantitative and qualitative analysis and drawing attention to the manner in which various democratic qualities relate to one another. Moreover, in applying the assessment model to a fairly diversified sample of Asian countries, this issue goes a step further than earlier applications of the model, thus providing potential inroads for conceptual advancement. This study sets out two agendas: one for political actors both collective and individual, and another for scholars of democracy. Members of the former group must understand how to promote vital aspects of the rule of law within their own countries so as to secure growth and promote democratic values among citizens. Members of the latter group require a more refined understanding of the rule of law in all its aspects, not least the potential for its effective implementation. This special issue provides a starting point for further research – and substantive progress, we hope – on this question.

Please tell your colleagues about this opportunity to read this ground-breaking research.

http://ips.sagepub.com/content/32/5.toc

More Accolades for the International Encyclopedia of Political Science

By Tom Gilson (Associate Editor, Against the Grain, and Head of Reference Emeritus, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29401)

The International Encyclopedia of Political Science (2011, 978-1412959636, $1,095) is a new eight-volume set published by Sage and is a major undertaking developed in partnership with the International Political Science Association. As such, well-respected scholars Bertrand Badie, Institut d’etudes politiques Paris, France; Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Philipps-Universitat Marburg, Germany; and Leonardo Morlino, LUISS Guido Carli were enlisted to serve as general editors. They and the publishers have set an ambitious goal of covering “every field of politics from political theory and methodology to political sociology, comparative politics, public policies, and international relations.” In order to meet this demanding challenge, an international cast of scholars was gathered drawing particularly from Europe and the United States. The overall results are impressive.

Although the Encyclopedia mentions events and people, for the most part it is not about them. The focus is on key ideas and concepts as well as the numerous “aspects of political life” that make up the study of political science globally. Specifically, there are articles on topics as different as Anarchy and the Rule of Law; Electoral Behavior and Military Rule; Colonialism and Nationalist Movements; Monetary Relations and Social Class; Stalinism and Theories of Democracy; and Street Level Bureaucracy and Monarchy. There are also individual articles that cover gender, race, and ethnic concerns, those that explore both qualitative and quantitative methods of research; and those that discuss the impacts of various religions on political life.

While some non-scholars may find it of interest, this set is not intended for a lay audience. All of the articles are grounded in serious research and informed by the literature of the discipline. Although there are a few tables and charts included, the articles are text rich and dense. Nonetheless, they will be accessible to undergraduate majors not to mention graduate students and faculty. As you would expect, each entry has a useful bibliography and relevant “see also” references. In addition, there is a Reader’s Guide that organizes articles by broad topic to assist researchers.

The International Encyclopedia of Political Science offers the reader informed and well researched discussions of the ideas, concepts, and theories that lie at the foundation of the discipline. It also touches on the international aspects of the various topics covered as well as in specific entries like those on Balance of Power, Alliances, Genocide, Multilateralism and International Trade. As such, this title is an ideal companion to Sage’s more U.S. focused Encyclopedia of Political Science (2010, 978-1933116440, $800). Academic libraries that support strong political science curriculums will want this new title in their collection.

Excerpt from the "Reference Desk", In Against the Grain, Vol.23, No.6 (Dec 2011-Jan 2012).

http://www.against-the-grain.com/2012/02/v23-6-table-of-contents/

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