International Sociological Association

The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociological organizations. The ISA was founded in 1949 under UNESCO and it has about 6,000 individual and 45 collective members, hailing from 167 countries. Its sole purpose is to "represent sociologists everywhere, regardless of their school of thought, scientific approaches or ideological opinion" and its objective is to "advance sociological knowledge throughout the world". Along with the Institut International de Sociologie (IIS), it is seen as a world-leading international sociological organization. ISA is a member of the International Social Science Council with the status of the non-governmental organization in formal associate relations with UNESCO and special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The ISA's international conference is held every four years, the last of which, the XVIIIth World Congress of Sociology was held in Yokohama, Japan, in July 2014. ISA also organizes a number of smaller conferences, and publishes two peer-reviewed academic journals: Current Sociology and International Sociology. ISA's first president (1949–1952) was Louis Wirth. The current president (2023–2027) is Geoffrey Pleyers, Belgium.