Political scientists gathered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from September 10-14th, 2025 for the 121st Annual Meeting & Exhibition. We acknowledge that our meeting location was situated on the unceded traditional territories of the xwməθkwəy’əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and we recognize them as custodians of the lands on which we gathered.
We are grateful for the 2025 program chairs, Christian Dyogi Phillips, University of Southern California, and Tatishe Nteta, University of Massachusetts Amherst, for their outstanding leadership and timely theme “Reimagining_Politics,_Power,_and_Peoplehood_in_Crisis_Times.” The outstanding program is a reflection of their hard work, as well as the 2025 division chairs, related group chairs, and other volunteers who help make this program possible. These volunteers are essential to delivering an innovative event, and we are very grateful for their service.
President Taeku Lee, RBSI Scholars with APSA Staff at the Awards Reception
The 2025 Annual Meeting featured over 1,660 total events, including over 1,500 panels and 144 affiliated events, providing a forum for over 5,600 registered participants to present their cutting-edge research and innovations in the political science discipline, as well as providing the opportunity to network and collaborate with one another. While all panels took place in-person, there was a virtual participation component with 300 panels that had virtual presenters and the plenary, breaking news panels, and Presidential Address were livestreamed to virtual participants. Conference attendees had an opportunity to network with colleagues and take advantage of the many professional development panels and roundtables.
Wendy Pearlman (L) and Ana Arjona (R) present at the Perspectives on Politics Editorial Board Meeting.
The program co-chairs put together 60 theme panels for the 2025 APSA Annual Meeting. In addition to these theme panels, the chairs selected the plenary panel, “Democracy in a Reparative Key.” They also put together two breaking news panels: “Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System?” and “Contesting the University.”
On Wednesday, over 30 pre-conference short courses were held. These short courses provide diverse opportunities for professional development. Later that evening, the Awards Reception took place celebrating remarkable research contributions to the discipline. Many individuals were honored with APSA and APSA Organized Section Awards. Congratulations to our 2025_award_winners!
Program panel sessions officially kicked off on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. The Exhibit Hall and Interview Services also opened on Thursday, with 11 departments registered to conduct interviews. The Career Open House was also held in the afternoon as an opportunity for attendees to have informational and informal discussions about careers with other departments and organizations. Several professional development panels were also held throughout the meeting. In keeping with APSA’s RESPECT Campaign, the APSA Annual Meeting Ombuds was on-site and available to attendees as well.
In the afternoon, the breaking news panel, “Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System?” featured speakers Dr. Niloufer Siddiqui, Dr. Lilliana Mason, Dr. Katherine Krimmel, and moderated by Dr. Alexander Theodoridis. Later that evening, Victor Harry, Squamish Nation representative, preceded the Presidential Address with a traditional welcome. Dr. Taeku Lee, Harvard University, gave the 121st APSA Presidential Address: “Epistemic Institutions and the Populism Dilemma: Reimagining Political Science as a Vocation during Democratic Breakdown.” The address was followed by the International Attendee Reception, the APSA Reception Honoring Women in the Profession, and various section and affiliated receptions.
Friday featured hundreds more panels, including the 2025 Plenary Panel, “Democracy in a Reparative Key” featuring invited speaker, Dr. Wendy Brown with the Institute for Advanced Study. APSA also hosted the Member Appreciation Reception in the Exhibit Hall that afternoon. In the evening, several receptions took place throughout the meeting such as the APSA Reception Honoring Women of Color in the Profession, the Joint Reception for APSA Status Committees, Caucuses, and REP Organized Section, and the APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Grantee Reception.
The Vancouver Covention Centre
Saturday continued with the Emerging Scholars Symposium Lightning Round sessions. The Symposium featured three categories of presentations reserved for emerging scholars in the field and utilized an innovative panel format similar to PechaKucha and Lightning Rounds. Each scholar had five minutes to present, followed by five minutes of feedback or Q&A. This event coincided with other emerging scholar events, including the Graduate School Information Fair, and the Graduate Student Happy Hour in the evening.
Also on Saturday, the breaking news panel “Contesting the University” featured speakers Dr. Sara Watson, Dr. Michael Tesler, Dr. Vincent Hutchings, Dr. Agustina Paglayan, and moderator Dr. Ange-Marie Hancock. The eighth annual TLC at APSA was also held on Saturday with nearly 140 participants. The TLC at APSA theme was “Teaching Politics, Power, and Peoplehood in Crisis Times.” Dr. Juan Carlos Huerta of Texas A&M University presented the keynote, “Change and Evolution in Teaching and Learning in Political Science.”
Attendees visit the Exhibit Hall in the Vancouver Convention Centre and show off their APSA merch.
In addition to the many panels, APSA also hosted an in-person exhibit hall. Multiple events were held in the hall, including the in-person iPoster presentations. The gallery is still available for viewing and feedback post-conference.
The 2026 event will be the 122nd APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition and will be held in Boston, Massachusetts from September 3-6, 2026. The call for proposals opened in October and with a submission deadline of January 14, 2026. The 2026 APSA Annual Meeting Program Chairs are Laura Gamboa, University of Notre Dame, Ellen Lust, Cornell University, and Jamila Michener, Cornell University, the 2026 theme is “Democracy Under Threat: How to Understand, Protect, and Rebuild.” The theme statement can be found_here. We look forward to seeing everyone in Boston for another meeting filled with excellent panels, networking and professional development opportunities!
Top left: The “Donut Wall” at the TLC Reception. Top right: Attendees in the Exhibit Hall spin the “Wheel of APSA.” Bottom left: President Taeku Lee, President-elect Susan Stokes, and APSA Executive Director Kimberly A. Mealy at the 2025 APSA Council Meeting. Bottom right: Globe at night in the Vancouver Convention Centre.
