an international organization consisting of national and regional sociological organizations, including organizations of the USSR and the other socialist countries, as well as a number of individual members. The association, founded in 1949, operates under the sponsorship of UNESCO. It is directed by a council, consisting of representatives of member associations, an executive committee, elected by the council and headed by a president, and a research council. The executive secretary of the ISA has his office in Milan.
In its charter, the ISA declares its main objectives to be the facilitation and promotion of international sociological research, the development of personal contacts between sociologists, and the dissemination and exchange of information. The ISA organizes the work of research committees, for example, it directs research and holds round-table conferences and convenes international sociological congresses. It publishes the review Current Sociology, Sociological Abstracts (with the American Sociological Association), Transactions of the World Congress of Sociology, which is a compendium of the proceedings of the congresses, the bulletin ISA Newsletter, and annual reports.