It is the leading association in its field in the United Kingdom, with an international membership including academics in political science and current affairs, theorists and practitioners, policy makers, researchers and students in higher education.

The PSA was founded in 1950, following the establishment of the International Political Science Association in 1949, and was initially supported by a grant from UNESCO.

[3] The PSA publishes five journals: The PSA holds an annual awards ceremony,[7] giving prizes to political scientists, journalists and politicians.

[8] In 2000, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the PSA also awarded one-off Lifetime Achievement Awards to Brian Barry, Jean Blondel, David Butler, Bernard Crick, Denis Healey, Edward Heath, Stanley Hoffmann, Roy Jenkins, and Richard Rose.

[9][10] In 2012, Professor Vicky Randall, who served as chair of the association from 2008 until 2011, was granted a Special Recognition Award in honour of “her tireless work integrating gender analysis into political science and her efforts to secure fairer representation of women in political life and the study of politics”.