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What is ISPP?
ISPP stands for the International Society of Political Psychology. It is an interdisciplinary membership organization for people who study how political and psychological processes shape each other. Its members come from psychology, political science, psychiatry, history, sociology, economics, anthropology, journalism, government and related fields, and they work across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
What it actually does
- Annual meetings: The society holds a yearly conference; the page notes a 2026 meeting in Newcastle, United Kingdom, and a 50th annual meeting in Amsterdam in 2027.
- Publications and news: It publishes a newsletter, ISPPNews, with society announcements and calls, such as for small grant proposals and governing council nominations.
- Academic freedom work: ISPP has joined the Scholars at Risk Network and runs a Scholars Under Threat Fund, currently directed toward supporting academics in Turkey affected by government actions. It also accepts applications on a rolling basis for a Twinning Program.
- Membership: Membership appears to be open, with pricing information available through the society.
Who it is for
A graduate student in political psychology would use ISPP to find collaborators and present early work at the annual meeting. A journalist or policy analyst might use it to follow research on polarization, identity or public opinion. A scholar facing pressure in their home country could look at the Scholars Under Threat Fund or the Twinning Program. The trade-off is that a broad interdisciplinary society covers many topics at once, so its conference and newsletter may feel less specialized than a single-discipline association.
Next step
If you are considering joining or attending, start with the membership pricing page to check cost and categories, then look at the current ISPPNews issue and the next annual meeting details to judge whether the topics and location fit your work. For related professional context, you can also compare with the American Political Science Association or the American Psychological Association, though neither focuses specifically on the intersection of politics and psychology the way ISPP does.
How can I become a member of ISPP and what are the membership levels?
Membership in ISPP is handled through the society itself, and the practical route is to apply online via the membership section of ISPP. You choose a membership category, provide your details and professional affiliation, and pay the applicable dues; the society then confirms your membership and gives you access to member benefits such as the newsletter, conference registration and committee activities.
How to join
- Go to the ISPP website and open the membership area.
- Select the membership category that matches your situation (for example, standard, student, or a lower-income-country rate if offered).
- Complete the application form with your contact and professional information.
- Pay the dues through the payment method the site provides.
- Watch for confirmation and any member login details for the newsletter and conference systems.
If you are unsure which category fits, contact the ISPP office before paying; changing categories later is usually more annoying than choosing correctly at the start.
Membership levels
ISPP does not publish a single universal list of levels on the page summarized here, and dues and categories can change. The page does link to a dedicated pricing page at ISPP, which is the authoritative place to check current categories and rates. Typical categories in scholarly societies of this kind include:
- Standard/full membership — for established researchers and professionals.
- Student or early-career membership — reduced dues with proof of status.
- Retired or emeritus membership — for members who have left full-time work.
- Low- and middle-income country rates — reduced dues based on country of residence.
- Institutional or departmental membership — where a department joins on behalf of several people.
Treat that list as a general expectation, not a confirmed ISPP price sheet. The exact categories, eligibility rules and amounts belong on the ISPP pricing page.
What membership gets you
The main draw is the annual meeting, which is where the interdisciplinary mix described on the site actually shows up: psychologists, political scientists, historians, sociologists, economists, anthropologists, journalists and government officials in the same rooms. Members also receive ISPPNews and can take part in society committees and programs, including the Scholars Under Threat work and the Twinning Program.
A useful next step
Before joining, decide whether you mainly want the conference, the journal and newsletter, or the scholarly community and mentoring. If it is the conference, check the next meeting dates first — the site lists Newcastle, United Kingdom, 16–19 July 2026, and Amsterdam, 6–9 July 2027 — and confirm whether members get a registration discount that offsets the dues.
What are the benefits of attending the ISPP Annual Meeting?
Attending the ISPP Annual Meeting gives you direct access to the society's core strength: its deliberate mix of disciplines. ISPP describes itself as an interdisciplinary organization for all fields concerned with the relationship between political and psychological processes, with members drawn from psychology, political science, psychiatry, history, sociology, economics, anthropology, and also journalism and government. A conference built on that membership is less a single-discipline academic meeting and more a place to test how political behavior looks from several angles at once.
What you get from the program
- Cross-field exposure. You can hear work from political scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, historians, sociologists, economists, anthropologists, and practitioners who would rarely share a session elsewhere. For a graduate student in one department, this is a fast way to find the literature and methods your own field tends to ignore.
- An international membership base. The society reports members from the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, so the meeting is a chance to compare how political psychology is practiced in different national contexts rather than only in your own.
- A recurring, predictable venue. The page shows a sequence of meetings: the next Annual Meeting is 16–19 July 2026 in Newcastle, United Kingdom, and the 50th Annual Meeting is scheduled for Amsterdam, 6–9 July 2027. Planning around either date is straightforward.
- Entry into the society's wider work. The annual meeting sits alongside ISPP's Scholars Under Threat Fund, its Scholars at Risk Network affiliation, a Twinning Program accepting applications on a rolling basis, and the ISPPNews newsletter. Attending is a natural first step toward the committee work, small grants, and governance roles announced in those channels.
Who benefits most
| Attendee | Main value | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Early-career researcher | Feedback on work in progress and visibility across fields | Large interdisciplinary audiences can mean fewer specialists in your exact niche |
| Established scholar | New collaborators outside your home discipline | You may spend time on framing rather than deep technical debate |
| Practitioner (journalism, government) | Accessible, policy-relevant findings and contacts | Academic session formats can feel slow if you want applied takeaways |
| Scholar facing pressure at home | Connection to ISPP's academic-freedom work and networks | Support is not automatic; it runs through specific programs and funds |
A practical next step
Decide which of the two announced meetings fits your timeline, then check the society's membership pricing page before registering, since conference rates often differ for members and non-members. If your goal is collaboration rather than attendance alone, look at the Twinning Program and the Scholars Under Threat Fund pages first, because those tell you what the society does between meetings. For general context on the field, ISPP is the primary source.
How does ISPP support scholars whose academic freedom is at risk?
ISPP approaches academic freedom as a professional-body responsibility rather than a purely individual problem. According to its own pages, the society joined the Scholars at Risk Network and states an aim to protect anyone whose academic freedom is threatened anywhere in the world. It also runs a Twinning Program and accepts applications for it on a rolling basis, and it maintains a Scholars Under Threat Fund that accepts donations. The page notes that donations to that fund are currently directed to supporting academic scholars in Turkey affected by recent government actions.
What that means in practice
- Network membership and advocacy: Joining Scholars at Risk connects ISPP members to a wider infrastructure for threatened researchers, which typically includes emergency placements, advocacy letters and monitoring. ISPP presents this as its main structural response.
- Direct financial support: The Scholars Under Threat Fund is the concrete funding channel. The page describes it as supporting colleagues whose academic freedom is in jeopardy, with a current geographic focus on Turkey.
- Twinning Program: This is a matching-style program, accepting applications continuously. For a scholar or department under pressure, it can create a durable partnership with another institution or group rather than one-off relief.
- Scholars Under Threat Committee: The newsletter listing shows announcements from this committee, indicating an ongoing body that coordinates ISPP's response rather than a one-time campaign.
Who this is for, and the trade-offs
The most likely beneficiaries are researchers, teachers and students facing restrictions on what they can teach or study, plus colleagues abroad who want to help. The practical limits are worth knowing: the fund depends on donations, so the amount and pace of support are not guaranteed, and the page ties current spending to scholars in Turkey, meaning support is not evenly distributed across all regions. The Twinning Program is application-based and rolling, which rewards people who can navigate an application process—often difficult for someone already under threat.
If you are deciding whether to engage, start with the specific mechanism that matches your situation: a threatened scholar or an institution seeking a partner should look at the Twinning Program application route, while someone wanting to contribute financially should use the Scholars Under Threat Fund donation channel. For context on the wider academic-freedom ecosystem, the Scholars at Risk network is the reference point ISPP itself points to.
What is the Twinning Program and how can I apply?
The Twinning Program is an ISPP initiative that accepts applications on a rolling basis, according to the society's site. The page evidence names it alongside ISPP's academic-freedom work, including its membership in the Scholars at Risk Network, but does not spell out the program's pairing structure, eligibility rules or selection criteria. Treat those details as things to confirm directly with ISPP.
A practical way to apply
- Start with the ISPP site's program or Scholars Under Threat pages and look for the Twinning Program application instructions.
- Email ISPP if no application form is posted, and ask for the current call, eligibility requirements and what documents are needed.
- Prepare a short statement covering your research area, institutional context and what kind of partnership you seek.
- Note that applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so you can apply outside a fixed annual deadline.
Who it may suit
The program sits within ISPP's broader support for scholars whose academic freedom is at risk. That suggests it is most relevant to researchers facing pressure, restrictions or displacement, and to colleagues and institutions able to host or partner with them. Because ISPP is interdisciplinary, applicants may come from political science, psychology, sociology, history and related fields.
Trade-offs to weigh
Rolling review can mean a quicker route than waiting for a yearly competition, but it also means timelines depend on matching capacity and available support rather than a single decision date. If your situation is urgent, ask ISPP about the realistic time frame before relying on the program as your main option.
For context on the society and its other activities, see ISPP.
How can I submit a proposal or apply for an ISPP small grant?
ISPP's small grants are announced through the Society's own channels rather than through a permanently open submission page. The site's news ticker lists a "Call for Small Grant Proposals," and the same announcements area carries other time-limited items such as Governing Council nominations and Scholars Under Threat Committee notices. So the practical answer is: watch for the call, then follow the instructions inside that call.
Where the call appears
- The ISPP homepage news ticker, which is where the small grant call is posted alongside other announcements.
- ISPPNews, the Society's newsletter, whose latest issue is promoted on the homepage.
- The Scholars Under Threat Committee announcements, which appear in the same feed and are relevant if your project touches academic freedom.
A workable sequence
- Check the news ticker and the current ISPPNews issue for an open call.
- Read the eligibility, topic scope, budget limits and deadline stated in that specific call.
- Prepare the proposal in the format the call requests, and submit by the stated route before the deadline.
- If no call is open, note the date of the most recent one and plan to check again around the same period, since calls recur rather than run continuously.
One distinction that matters
ISPP runs more than one application process, and they are not interchangeable. The Twinning Program, for example, accepts applications on a rolling basis, while the small grant call is tied to a specific announcement. If your goal is a small grant, do not assume the rolling Twinning route applies to you.
If you want to act today
Open ISPP and look at the news ticker and the latest ISPPNews issue first; that is where the small grant call, its deadline and its submission instructions will be stated. If nothing is open, note the date of the last call and set a reminder to check the site and newsletter again in the same window.
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