Introducing IPS@20: Reflections, Critiques, and the Futures of International Political Sociology
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: As the journal International Political Sociology marks its twentieth anniversary, we explore what it now means to do international political sociology as a way of introducing the IPS@20 Special Issue. Drawing on our experience as an editorial team, we highlight how we have engaged with debates about what constitutes international political sociology in our editorial practice. In doing so, we offer a set of reflections on IPS and international political sociology, as conceptual terrains but also as intellectual functionaries. Second, we explore the potential futures of international political sociology. Third, we reflect on the role of critique and transformation in the field. We note the decline of immanent critique and what that might mean for work in international political sociology. Finally, in the concluding (or commencing) section, we return to the question of the international, its futures, and its functions in a time of poly-crisis. By engaging with these questions, we offer a significant contribution to the ongoing conversations about international political sociology that have productively shaped the field.
DOI: 10.1093/ips/olag034
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,320
OpenAlex ID: W7204100256