Blue Mosque through a window on the second floor of Hagia Sophia. Flickr/Mehran Heidarzadeh. Some rights reserved. The World Congress of Political Science, organised by the International Political Science Association (IPSA), is one of the high prestige settings for any social science researcher eager to present their research, expand their networks, attend fruitful scholarly discussions and have the opportunity to detect new approaches in their specific fields. It is also a challenge for host countries to show their organisational abilities. In 2016, for the first time, İstanbul was appointed host for the 24th World Congress of Political Science. Now it has lost its chance.
The association announced that the congress will be relocated from İstanbul to a new host city in Europe due the deterioration of security in Turkey. According to the association, the decision was made on February 25 by the IPSA Executive Committee in coordination with the Turkish Political Science Association and the local organizing committee in Turkey. A new host city will be announced by March 25. The announcement noted that the organisers feel they cannot guarantee the safety of all participants and provide an environment favourable to the exchange of intellectual ideas. Meanwhile, IPSA remains firm in its commitment to the Turkish political science community.
At the first glance, the issue seems crystal clear. But there are some points that should be clarified given the rumours busily circulating in both Turkish and international academic environments.
