Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce an exciting development for our European political science community: the founding of the not-for-profit professional association European Political Science Society (EPSS).

This marks a new chapter for political science in Europe and ensures that the professional association is governed transparently, reinvests in its own development, and is accountable to its members.

The Purpose of the European Political Science Society

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the three EPSA founders for taking the initiative to establish EPSA in 2010 and for creating a growing community by running many successful EPSA conferences and launching PSRM. Over time, however, pressure for reform has grown, as it has become increasingly clear that EPSA, which is registered to a for-profit company (EPS Academic Ltd), cannot be fully transparent and accountable to its members.

Responding to calls for reform, and after many years of discussions, reports, and proposals, the EPSA Council voted today by a supermajority to set up a not-for-profit organization: European Political Science Society (EPSS).EPSS, like most professional associations in political science and the broader social sciences, operates as a not-for-profit entity and is registered in the UK as European Political Science CIC.

The EPSS Founding Council was established on 26 June 2025. Because EPSAL has trademarked the name “European Political Science Association”, EPSS will avoid using that name. You can find more information about EPSS and the EPSS Council on our website: www.epssnet.org.

A New Model: Member-led, Not-for-Profit, and Mission-Driven

EPSS is committed to realizing the broader potential of our community: offering a wider range of initiatives to serve and support its members throughout all stages of their academic careers. We will run an annual conference and we also aim to launch new activities, including prizes recognizing research excellence, travel support for members in need, small grants for innovation, and targeted support for the professional development of early-career scholars.  All revenue from the new association will be reinvested into supporting political science scholarship in Europe and beyond.

Next Steps: Membership, 2026 Conference in Belfast, and Email List

We warmly invite you to join us in building a society that reflects our shared academic values: transparency, inclusivity, and scholarly excellence. Only with your involvement can EPSS create a vibrant, independent, and collaborative academic community devoted to advancing political science in Europe.

Membership: By joining EPSS today, you will help shape a member-driven professional association committed to advancing political science in Europe and benefit from a reduced conference fee. Your membership fees will also help to get EPSS off the ground financially, as we are starting from scratch. If you would like to contribute beyond your membership fee, consider making a Founder’s contribution, which gives you lifetime membership as well as public recognition of your contribution, or donate, which will allow us to organize activities in this realm. To join EPSS, please click here.

EPSS Conference: We are proud to announce that the 2026 EPSS Conference will take place in Belfast from 18-20 June 2026. It will be the first EPSS meeting organized with the new not-for-profit model. You can find more information here: https://epssnet.org/belfast-2026/ 

Email List: We will only send you future emails if you want to.  To stay connected and to continue receiving updates about EPSS, the upcoming conference and opportunities to get involved in the community, please please click here to send a subscription request to  the new EPSS email listserv.

Share the News: We encourage you to share this email with your network.

We’re excited about what lies ahead and hope you will join us in building a stronger, more inclusive and sustainable society for political scientists in Europe and beyond. Welcome to EPSS!

Your EPSA Council president,

Sara Hobolt

on behalf of the following EPSA Council members:

Ken Benoit

Andy Eggers

John Griffin

Simon Hix

Mark Kayser

Zeynep Somer-Topcu

Vera Troeger

Stefanie Walter