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Senate Delivers Devastating Blow to Integrity of Scientific Process at NSF
On March 20, 2013, the US Senate voted for the Coburn Amendment to the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013. Senator Coburn (R-OK) submitted an amendment (SA 65, as modified) to the Mikulski-Shelby Amendment (SA 26) to H.R. 933 (Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013). The amendment places unprecedented restriction on the national research agenda by declaring the political science study of democracy and public policy out of bounds. The amendment allows only political science research that promotes "national security or the economic interests of the United States." Adoption of this amendment is a gross intrusion into the widely-respected, independent scholarly agenda setting process at NSF that has supported our world-class national science enterprise for over sixty years. Read more »

APSA remembers Dr. Hanes Walton, Jr.
APSA has learned that Dr. Hanes Walton, Jr., University of Michigan, died on Monday January 7, 2013. Funeral services were held at 11:00am on January 12 at Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel in Atlanta, GA. The Walton family requests memorial donations be sent to the Department of Political Science at Morehouse College or the Political Science Department at the University of Michigan. More information about Dr. Walton's life and contributions are available here.

Hanes was a builder in political science and active in the Association, and was elected as Vice President this year. He was a notable scholar, an APSA Congressional Fellow, and a mentor to generations of students. His biography and statement of objectives for APSA, when nominated as Vice President for the 2012-2013 term, are posted here.

Special Edition devoted to Religion and Politics in the United States
The Politics and Religion Journal is a peer-reviewed European journal publishing a special edition dedicated to "Religion and Politics in the United States." The journal welcomes submissions representing a broad spectrum of views and opinions regarding the relationship between religion and politics. We welcome articles that use a range of methodological approaches such as quantitative, normative, or philosophical. We are especially interested in recent trends regarding the influence of religion on American politics, but will consider all submissions analyzing the relationship between religion and the public sphere in the United States. 

Please send submissions as a Word document to ddavison@rollins.edu by February 15, 2013. Manuscripts should be double-spaced using 12-point font and not exceed 35 pages including graphs, tables, appendix and bibliography. Graphs and tables should be placed at the end of the document and numbered sequentially. The manuscript should include a title page and an abstract of 150 words or less. Authors should remove all self-identification from the version that will be sent to referees. Include as a separate file a title page with the author's contact information. Please contact Dr. Donald Davison, Department of Political Science, Rollins College, for additional information.

APSA Announces New Middle East Political Science Workshop
The American Political Science Association is pleased to announce a new series of annual political science workshops to be held in the Arab Middle East and North Africa generously funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York for 2013-2014. The MENA Workshops are a multi-year effort to enhance the scholarly capacity and networks of early-career political science faculty in the Arab Middle East and North Africa region. The new program will deepen APSA's engagement with the international political science community and strengthen efforts to support research networks linking US scholars with their colleagues overseas, building on APSA's successful Africa Workshop program. Read more »

Trial to Begin Oct 1 for Professsor Büsra Ersanli
According to Scholars at Risk, Professor Büsra Ersanli is scheduled for a trial on October 1, 2012 for charges that remain against her linked to her work with the Peace and Democratic Party (BDP). Professor Ersanli, a professor of Political Science and International Relations at Marmara University in Istanbul, was arrested on October 28, 2011 and remained in detention until her release from prison on July 13, 2012. The APSA Committee on Professional Ethics, Rights and Freedoms is following the situation as part of its charge to monitor and appropriately involve the association in cases involving the human rights of scholars in other countries brought to its attention by reputable sources, as outlined in the APSA ethics guidelines. After receiving news of Ersanli's imprisonment in November 2011, APSA President G. Bingham Powell released a public letter to President Abdullah Gul of Turkey regarding Professor Ersanli.

APSA has followed up with Turkish officials to reaffirm our concerns. APSA will continue to post news regarding Professor Ersanli's case as we receive it. 
Scholars at Risk Press Release on Professsor Büsra Ersanli »

In Memoriam: Elinor Ostrom, Former APSA President and Nobel Laureate
Indiana University Distinguished Professor Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences. She was senior research director of the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Distinguished Professor and Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, and professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Ostrom received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for her groundbreaking research demonstrating that ordinary people are capable of creating rules and institutions that allow for the sustainable and equitable management of shared resources. She was the president of APSA in 1996-1997. Read more »

In Memoriam: Vincent Ostrom, Distinguished Indiana University Scholar
Ostrom, whose career ranged from consulting with local and state governments to conducting important practical and theoretical work on political economy, was the Arthur F. Bentley Professor Emeritus of Political Science in the Indiana University Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences.Together with his colleague and wife, Elinor Ostrom, he founded the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at the university in 1973. Read more »

Centennial Center for Political Science & Public Affairs Research Space Available
Members planning research visits to Washington, D.C. should consider making use of the Centennial Center for Political Science & Public Affairs. The Center can host scholars for short or extended stays, providing office space, computers, and other necessary resources. Applications are accepted at any time.