We are excited about the opportunity to assume the editorial leadership of PS: Political Science and Politics and work with the association to position this vital outlet for political science scholarship, pedagogy, and association news in the new environment of academic publishing.
In our view, the task of an interim editorial team is largely to maintain PS during our tenure, helping to inform the association as it moves to a permanent editorial team starting in 2016. PS routinely receives high reader satisfaction ratings and by some measures is the most widely read and digested publication in our profession. There is no reason to make major changes in the short-term to what is a successful formula. Robert Hauck has served with distinction as editor for a quarter century, and he has left PS in an enviable position to navigate the transition to a new model of academic publishing.
PS can not only help to inform the future for the rest of the association’s publications, but can also be a platform to assist the association to think more broadly about its future as a scholarly society, broadening and diversifying its membership, reaching out to underserved constituencies, and raising the public profile of the political science profession.
Can PS, as a publication explicitly designed to have broad possible appeal and feature research, pedagogy, and news of the profession, also serve as a vehicle to diversify the association, appeal to traditionally underserved segments of our membership, and anticipate and provide a venue for discussion and debate of emerging issues in the field?
We think it can, and that PS can continue to play a central role as disciplinary “glue” that appeals to the widest possible audience.
PS accepts, solicits, and reviews manuscripts in all areas of political science research, teaching and pedagogy, and disciplinary studies. All editorial content in the “front of the book” (non-association news, reports, and minutes) is subject to the normal peer-review process. That will, of course, continue.
We will follow Rob Hauck’s lead in making sure that symposia include diverse viewpoints, methodologically, demographically, and substantively. Because PS is more nimble and can publish more quickly than Perspectives and APSR, it can act as a “safety valve,” providing voice to constituencies in the profession who may not feel represented via our other publications or through our governance institutions.
PS is already a platform for highlighting the relevance of political science to the broader world of politics and policy; this role needs to be better advertised and expanded. We are thinking here of the regular, widely read and cited symposia on election forecasting; the Piazza and Walsh symposium exploring the relationships between terrorism and government respect for human rights; the recent volume dealing with the value of political science or Larry Bartels’s influential article on the Bush tax cuts; or the series of articles and sections that highlighted the impact of inequality on American democracy. This is a natural role for PS and one that we would hope to grow over the next year.
We are considering ways to link PS with the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference and with organized groups and journals that deal with teaching and pedagogy. The popular “The Teacher” section may be renamed “Teaching and Pedagogy” to provide recognition of the role that political scientists can play not just in developing innovative methods of teaching, but in conducting research into teaching and learning.
Finally, we are communicating with the APSA Council and with the members of recent APSA task forces to see how PS might increase the public engagement of political science through more rapid and online publication and the use of social networks and blogs. This issue’s “Spotlight” on the Ebola virus crisis is our first initiative of this type.
Ultimately, we view PS as your publication. It is owned by the membership, and we are simply stewards. We encourage you to talk to us at meetings, send us e-mail, engage us on Twitter and Facebook, and share your thoughts and reactions about how PS can best serve your needs and thrive in this brave new world of academic publishing.
