Strongly influenced by the foundation of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) in Paris in 1949, the GPSA was established in February 1951. Over the past seventy years, the GPSA has evolved into one of the largest professional organizations for the study of political science in Europe. Starting with 40 members in the early 1950s, it currently counts more than 2.100 full members.
The mission of the GPSA, expressed in its constitution, is to strengthen the professional environment of political science in Germany and to promote high quality teaching and education about politics. In its activities, the GPSA promotes scholarly research and communication both on a national and international level. Its tasks include the organization of public events, the publication of major research findings of German political scientists, and the support of the work of early career scholars. The GPSA furthermore strives for a diversification of the profession, promoting the diversity of its members as well as gender equality in political science. The association cooperates with political and social science associations nationally and internationally.
According to the GPSA constitution, the EC consists of eleven members, including the president and two vice-presidents. The following persons are members of the 2021-2024 Executive Committee:
President
Prof. Dr. Michael Koß, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg (E-Mail)
Vice-Presidents
PD Dr. Janne Mende, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, Heidelberg (E-Mail)
Prof. Dr. Markus Tepe, Universität Bremen (E-Mail)
Further Board Members
Prof. Dr. Sonja Blum, Universität Bielefeld (E-Mail)
Dr. Domenica Dreyer-Plum, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen (E-Mail)
Dr. Verena Frick, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (E-Mail)
Prof. Dr. Simon Koschut, Zeppelin Universität, Friedrichshafen (E-Mail)
Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Sigwart, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen (E-Mail)
Prof. Dr. Rieke Trimcev, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (E-Mail)
Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger, Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken (E-Mail)
Dr. Constantin Wurthmann, Universität Mannheim (E-Mail)
Responsibilities in the Executive Committee:
Committee for the Promotion of Women and Equality: Patricia Graf, Tanja Klenk, Franziska Martinsen & Bernhard Zangl
Committee for the Promotion of Early Career Scholars: Sonja Blum, Dirk Jörke & Bernhard Zangl
Finances: Claudia Ritzi, Armin Schäfer & Markus Tepe
Research: Dirk Jörke, Tanja Klenk, Diana Panke & Bernhard Zangl
Communication: Sonja Blum, Thorsten Faas, Tanja Klenk & Armin Schäfer
Teaching: Sonja Blum, Dirk Jörke & Claudia Ritzi
Cooperation with the Research Groups: Patricia Graf, Franziska Martinsen & Markus Tepe
Meetings and Congresses: Thorsten Faas, Patricia Graf & Diana Panke
Members: Franziska Martinsen, Armin Schäfer & Markus Tepe
The General Assembly is the supreme body of the GPSA. It is convened every three years by the Executive Committee. All voting members of the GPSA can submit proposals for the agenda in advance. Among other things, the General Assembly decides on the membership fees. The last General Assembly took place in Göttingen during the convention in September 2024.
The Council advises the Executive Committee, e.g. with regard to the convention topic. Its purpose is to promote exchange among the research groups as well as between the research groups and the Executive Committee. The Council meets at least once a year. Members of the Council are the spokespersons elected in the research groups (research sections, standing groups, and thematic networks) or delegated representatives. The Women's Assembly and the Assembly of Early Career Scholars each elect a representative to the Council.
The Ethics Committee becomes active when it is called upon because of scientific misconduct that violates the Code of Ethics. This includes, in particular, violations of objectivity in research and review, infringement of intellectual property (plagiarism), discrimination against students and staff, as well as sexual harassment and sexualized violence. In the latter case, the Ethics Committee recommends to first contact Prof. Dr. Birgit Sauer, the person of trust appointed specifically for this purpose.
The Executive Director is member of the EC without voting rights. He or she is responsible for administering all EC business and oversees the organization of the GPSA conventions. The GPSA Headquarter is located at Freie Universität Berlin.
Executive Director: Dr. Vera van Hüllen
The GPSA supports the research activities of its members by setting up research sections, standing groups, and thematic networks in various sub-fields of the political science discipline. Membership to all established groups is open to individual members of the GPSA. Among the most active and internationally operating groups are the research sections on International Relations, Political Economy, and Comparative Politics; the standing groups on Democratization, Migration Politics, Party Politics, Politics and Religion, Europe and Regionalism, Digitalization, and Elections and Public Opinion; and the thematic network on Foreign and Security Policy.
Between the national conventions, nearly all research groups of the GPSA hold annual conference and/or workshops on relevant research topics currently being discussed in the discipline.
Of particular importance is the Academic Convention that takes place every three years. The last convention took place in Göttingen in September 2024 on the topic "Politics in times of Polycrisis". International colleagues from non-German speaking countries are most welcome to attend the conventions as several panels and roundtables are always organized in English language.
GPSA issues a journal called Politische Vierteljahresschrift (PVS) / German Political Science Quarterly (GPSQ). The journal has been published since 1960. It appears four times a year and covers a total of about 700 printed pages. The journal provides space for theory-based and methodologically reflected articles from all sub-disciplines of political science. It also publishes scientifically well-grounded statements with reference to current political issues or societal affairs. Finally, the journal also provides a review section where new publications within the sub-fields of political science are discussed.
