The Annual Review of Political Science published its first volume in 1998; the first editor was Nelson W. Polsby.^[7] Upon Polsby's death in 2007, editorship passed to Margaret Levi.^[8] She was joined by Nancy L. Rosenblum,^[9] who is credited as co-editor for issues from 2015 to 2023.^[10][11] As of July 2023, Rosenblum was succeeded as co-editor by David Stasavage.^[11][5]

Until 2016, the journal was published both in print and online.^[12] Beginning in 2017, it is only published online.^[13] Under Annual Reviews's Subscribe to Open publishing model, the 2020 volume of the Annual Review of Political Science was published open access, a first for the journal.^[14][15]

The journal covers significant developments in political science, including political philosophy, international relations, political behavior, political economy, comparative politics, politics of the United States, and content relating to the policy and methodology of public administration.^[16]

The Annual Review of Political Science is helmed by the editor or co-editors. The editors are assisted by the editorial committee, which includes associate editors, regular members, and occasionally guest editors. Guest members participate at the invitation of the editors, and serve terms of one year. All other members of the editorial committee are appointed by the Annual Reviews board of directors and serve five-year terms. The editorial committee determines which topics should be included in each volume and solicits reviews from qualified authors.^[17] Unsolicited manuscripts are not accepted. Peer review of accepted manuscripts is undertaken by the editorial committee.^[18]

• Annual Reviews:List of titles
• List of political science journals