The Founding of the Nordic Political Science Association

Cooperation between the Political Science Associations in the Nordic countries started more than 10 years ago. The main task of this collaboration has been to publish the Scandinavian Political Studies Yearbook. The Editorial Board of SPS has functioned as a coordinating body for both the publishing side of the cooperation, the organization of the Nordic Political Science Conference every third year, and other common activities. There existed, however, a growing need for a further development of this cooperation and a more permanent organizational structure to take care of all the activities going on within the Nordic framework.

The Nordic Political Science Association (Nordisk Forbund for Statskundskab) was established on 23 August 1975 in connection with the 4th Nordic Political Science Conference in Aarhus. Representatives of all the five national political science associations took part in the constitutional meeting which resulted in a provisional constitution for the period until the next Nordic Conference. Professor Stein Rokkan, who had been in charge of the preparation of the formation of the association, was elected as acting chairman until the first meeting of the board in Stockholm in December 1975. At this meeting, the board elected Professor Henry Valen as chairman and Lecturer Kjell A. Eliassen as secretary of the association. The formation of the association has been made possible by a grant from the Nordic Cultural Foundation.

The main task of the NPSA is the publication of Scandinavian Political Studies. In 1977 a retrospective volume covering both research activities, the growth of the profession, and a cumulative bibliography of political science publications in the Nordic countries will be published under the editorship of Professor Stein Rokkan.

A second important aim of the organization is to increase cooperation among political scientists in the five countries. Three research groups on 'Social and Political Development in the Nordic Countries', 'Comparative Foreign Policy' and 'The Transformation of the Nordic Party Systems' have already been established and additional groups will be created during 1976. These research groups will serve as a basis for scientific cooperation within the association. The association will also organize seminars and conferences. The next Nordic Conference will be held in Bergen in 1976.

The third major task is to organize training courses, summer schools, etc., for postgraduate students and young faculty members in the Nordic countries. The first course is planned to be held in Bergen in 1977 on the topic 'Methods and Theories in Empirical Analysis of Regional Data'.

The association will also serve as a coordinating body for Nordic interests and activities
in relation to the European Consortium for Political Research and the International
Political Science Association.

University of Aarhus