Purpose and mandate


The Research Committee for the Study of Political Science as a Discipline, commonly known as RC 33, is one of the fifty permanent research committees that comprises the bulk of the active membership of the International Political Science Association (IPSA).

RC 33 promotes theoretical and research studies on the historiography and development of political science, either on its own or in conjunction with other IPSA research committees. The committee's approach is a comparative and eclectic one; it is intended to include the theoretical concerns of philosophers of social science, sociological and anthropological views of disciplinary origins and evolution, historical, and institutional studies.

Executive Committee (2012-2016)

  • Erkki Berndtson, University of Helsinki (chair).
  • Cecilia Lesgart, National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, CONICET-Argentina (vice-chair).
  • Thibaud Boncourt, Sciences Po Bordeaux (secretary).
  • Pere Vilanova, University of Barcelona (treasurer).
  • Daniel Bouquet, University of the Republic, Uruguay (member).
  • Luciana Ghica, University of Bucharest (member).
  • Bahgat Korany, The American University in Cairo (member).
  • Olga Malinova, Russian Academy of Sciences (member).
  • Bob Reinalda, Radboud University, Nijmegen (member).
  • John Trent, University of Ottawa (ex officio).