The following conferences may be of interest. Additional information can be found at the links included below.
ILA British Branch Spring Conference 2016 - "Non-State Actors and Changing Relations in International Law"
Date: 31 January 2016 (call for papers)
Location: Lancaster House Hotel | Lancaster University
This conference will examine the changing role of non-state actors in international law and their impact on law-making, obligations, responsibility and dispute settlement. These actors lie at the heart of international law, expressing many of its aspirations – in business and investment, human rights, the environment and humanising conflict – but also at its margins, underlining its borders and limitations. Non-state actors hold many of the key rights in international law, especially human and peoples’ rights, provide frameworks for its creation and enforcement, and drive its agendas. But, they are also defined by exclusion: by not being the principal subject of international law, the sovereign state. As such non-state actors are by nature a wide and diverse group, defined in essence not by their varied contributions but by their lack of sovereignty.
This conference will take a broad view of non-state actors, which could include: individuals; peoples, minorities, and indigenous groups; NGOs; businesses; organised armed groups; and international organisations, amongst others. Each may have their own rights and/or duties and particular relationship with international law. But, they also raise common questions: how do they contribute to international law; to what extent are they bound by its obligations; how do they enjoy rights and ensure protection of those rights; whether they hold responsibilities; and how they access enforcement and dispute resolution mechanisms?
"Normative Interventions"
Date: February 18-19, 2016
Location: University College London | London, United Kingdom
What is the role of a political philosopher in a democratic society? Is the idea of normative expertise morally pernicious? What kind of epistemic authority, if any, do political philosophers have over ordinary citizens? What is the proper division of moral and political labor between political philosophers, voters, and policymakers? Do political philosophers have duties to help make their society more just? If so, what implications does that imperative have for the topics they ought to pursue (and how they ought to pursue them)? Are there “democratic constraints” on the pursuit of political philosophy? How can political philosophers do the kind of sophisticated work prized by top journals, while also achieving the real-world impact that is increasingly demanded by university leadership? What sort of impact are political philosophers even positioned to make, and what are the best strategies for doing so? Should political philosophers simply stay out of politics?
This conference seeks to address these and related questions. It will feature talks from leading political philosophers with experience engaging the public and reflecting on the relation between political theory and practice. The conference is funded by The British Academy.
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
ISA's 57th Annual Convention " Exploring Peace"
Date: March 16th - 19th, 2016
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Traditional international studies have put a premium on war, militarized conflict, and other violence as primary phenomena for investigation. In contrast, “peace” is often defined as the absence of militarized and violent conflict, an afterthought or residual category without a distinct theoretical explanation. Yet, such a characterization lumps many disparate kinds of events and relationships together. Economic sanctions are sometimes placed in the same “non-war” category as cultural exchanges. Additionally, some studies characterize the relationship between North and South Korea as peaceful because there has been no war for over 60 years, thereby equivalent to many relationships in the European Union.
The focus on mitigating conflict and violence has led scholars to downplay or ignore other values such as human rights, justice, and equity that are part of many conceptions of peace. In addition, such a concentration leads away from interactions that increasingly characterize international affairs, including trade cooperation, integration, and peacebuilding.
http://www.isanet.org/Conferences/Atlanta-2016
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference
Date: April 7-10, 2016
Location: Chicago, IL
The 74th annual MPSA conference will be held April 7-10, 2016 at the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago. Conference presentations are organized by topic in more than 80 sections based on different subfields or areas of study. Many of these are interdisciplinary and draw scholars from different fields, providing a variety of perspectives.
http://www.mpsanet.org/conference
"Everyday Humanitarianism: Ethics, Affects and Practices"
Date: 14 April, 2016 - 15 April, 2016
Location: London School of Economics and Political Science | London, United Kingdom
In this ‘post-humanitarian’ age, solidarity is driven by converging logics of consumption and utilitarianism where doing good for others is about mundane micro-practices that aim at personal gratification, such as the click of the mouse or an e-signature. At the same time, moral universals and political questions of justice and equality may fade into the background or become treated as irrelevant. What are the everyday discourses and practices of humanitarianism today, its affects and their consequences? We are convening this international conference to explore this everyday humanitarianism and its ethics, affects, and practices by engaging new and ongoing scholarship in a number of fields (for example, studies of humanitarian interventions, disaster relief, charity, remittances, philanthropy, development aid, communications, and CSR).
Council for European Studies: 23rd International Conference of Europeanists: Resilient Europe?
Dates: April 14, 2016 - April 16, 2015
Location: Philadelphia, PA, United States
The Program Committee for the 23rd International Conference of Europeanists invites participants to consider contemporary Europe’s capacity for resilience. Since the financial crisis began in 2008, stresses and shocks of various sorts have posed dilemmas that challenge Europe’s resilience in economic, political, and cultural domains. How will European economies confront slow growth and austerity, as well as the atrophy of “social Europe” and the growth of inequality? How will demographic decline combined with immigration and assimilation affect the ethnic composition of Europe? Will the protracted Eurozone crisis and waning public support for European institutions and policies alter the viability of the European project? How will secular Europe confront the challenges of religious mobilization? How will European democracies confront the rise of nationalist parties and the valorization of “illiberalism” as viable political practice? Can Europe remain a “Normative Power,” a force for liberalism, democracy and the rule of law in the world, in the face of rising powers and resurgent authoritarianism?
https://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/conferences/2016-ces-conference/call-for-proposals
21st Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities
Date: April 14-16, 2016
Location: Columbia University, New York City
The ASN Convention, the largest international and inter-disciplinary scholarly gathering of its kind, welcomes proposals on a wide range of topics related to nationalism, ethnicity, ethnic conflict and national identity in regional sections on the Balkans, Central Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia, the Caucasus, and Turkey/Greece, as well as thematic sections on Nationalism and Migration/Diasporas. Disciplines represented include political science, history, anthropology, sociology, international studies, security studies, geopolitics, area studies, economics, geography, sociolinguistics, literature, psychology, and related fields.
http://nationalities.org/uploads/documents/ASN16_Call_for_Papers.pdf
24th World Congress of Political Science "Politics in a World of Inequality"
Date: July 23-28, 2016
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Both recognition issues and inequalities have become central to today’s politics. Regional, religious, cultural and other identities have been mobilised and demand political recognition and inclusion. At the same time, increased reliance on markets and indeed the very creation of global markets has made it harder to address North/South issues or for national polities effectively to address inequality.
The 2016 IPSA World Congress will be a timely occasion on which to refocus the attention of political scientists on issues of redistribution and recognition in all their complexity. These are issues confronted by political actors all over the world and to which political science can bring important insights. It is an opportunity to once again demonstrate the relevance of political science to political practice.
https://istanbul2016.ipsa.org/events/congress/istanbul2016/theme
Past Conferences
‘Our Common Future Under Climate Change’
Date: July 7-10, 2015
Location: Paris, France
The International Scientific Conference “Our Common Future under Climate Change” will take place at UNESCO and UPMC (Paris) in July 2015.
This four-day conference will be the largest forum for the scientific community to come together ahead of the 21st UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21), which will be hosted by France in December 2015 (“Paris Climat 2015”). Building on the results of IPCC 5th Assessment Report (AR5), the Conference will address key issues concerning climate change in the broader context of global change. It will offer an opportunity to discuss solutions for both mitigation and adaptation issues. The Conference will also welcome Side Events organized by different stakeholders. The conference is organized under the umbrella of ICSU, Future Earth, UNESCO and major French research institutions, with the support of the French Government.
http://www.commonfuture-paris2015.org/
'22nd International Conference of Europeanists'
Date: July 8-10, 2015
Location: Sciences Po, Paris, France
The conference, "Contradictions: Envisioning European Futures," will be attended by over 1500 of the world's leading experts on Europe and European affairs and will feature a keynote lecture by Thomas Piketty on “Envisioning Europe’s Economic Future from a Long-Term Historical Perspective.”
http://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/conferences/2015-ces-conference/
‘Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) 2015 Asia Conference: Confronting Asia’s Development Challenges through Innovation’
Date: August 20-24, 2015
Location: Manila, Philippines
“The Asian Century” is upon us. The East is now home to more than half of the world’s population and is quickly becoming the heart of the global economic system. Creating a global dialogue with Asia is vital to collectively solving today’s problems and planning for the realities of tomorrow.
HPAIR is dedicated to bringing together the brightest young minds from all corners of the world to discuss the most important regional and global issues. At our conferences, over 500 delegates are inspired by expert speakers, establish lasting relationships, and develop the skills needed to transform Asia’s future. Join us this summer in Manila at our five-day Asia Conference for a life-changing academic experience shaped by Harvard and De La Salle University.
http://www.hpair.org/aconf-2015/
‘Legitimate Authority and Political Violence’
Date: August 28-29, 2015
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
The Stockholm Centre is very pleased to be hosting the 6th Annual Conference of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict. This conference series regularly brings together scholars working on the ethics of war from philosophical, legal, political and practitioner backgrounds.
http://stockholmcentre.org/event/elac-conference-2015-legitimate-authority-and-political-violence/
‘Diversities Reconsidered: Politics, and Political Science, in the 21st Century: 2015 APSA Annual Meeting’
Date: September 3-6, 2015
Location: San Francisco, California
“Diversity” is a pervasive concept in political science and in contemporary political discourse. While some may assume that “diversity” refers to demographic heterogeneity (primarily), there is, in fact, a tremendous range of diversity in the political world and in the ways that the discipline of political science studies the world. Diversities, singularly and in their frequently vast and intricate interconnections, provide both reasons and intellectual grounds for reconsidering diversities as inherent, important and worthy of reconsideration across the fields, substantive concerns, and methods of our discipline.
We are pleased to offer theme panels for this year’s meeting which address many different elements of diversity, featuring scholars from across the discipline, and using a broad array of theoretical and methodological approaches. Our theme panels consider, among other things, representation and equality in the United States and abroad; diversity within our profession the role of domestic and international political institutions in promoting or restricting diversity; and the ethical and practical issues associated with how we conduct our scholarship.
http://community.apsanet.org/annualmeeting/home/
10th Pan-European Conference on International Relations. European International Studies Association (EISA)
Date: September 7, 2016 - September 10, 2016
Location: Izmir, Turkey
http://www.paneuropeanconference.org/2016/
12th ESIL Annual Conference: How International Law Works in Times of Crisis.
Date: 10 September 2016
Location: Riga, Latvia
The conference will provide an opportunity to discuss the crisis of international law, the international law of crisis, and also different biases and assumptions that contribute to questions about crisis. Questions that will be discussed include: In times of crisis, how does international law work? More specifically: How is international law rising to the challenge of contemporary crises, of capturing old and factually new phenomena and dealing with them in a normative context? What is the role of international lawyers in addressing the old and new crises? What role is assumed by (regional) organizations and the European Union in particular as well as non-state actors in this context of multiple tensions and multiple visions of the past and the future? This focus invites legal and interdisciplinary approaches to address these issues more generally as well as in different specialised areas of international law.
‘The Worlds of Violence: 9th Pan-European Conference on International Relations’
Date: September 23-26, 2015
Location: Giardini Naxos, Sicily, Italy
Theme-wise the conference focuses on the classic issue of violence yet (re-)presented with an innovative twist. At the same time, the 60+ sections mirror the amazing diversity and intellectual span of International Studies as it has developed during more than a century.
http://www.paneuropeanconference.org/2015/
‘Innovations and Challenges in Teaching and Learning in a Globalizing World Order’
Date: September 25-26, 2015
Location: Pasadena, California
The International Studies Association West Region is pleased to announce our 2015 annual conference, September 25th - 26th, in Pasadena, California, USA. ISA-West invites paper, panel and roundtable proposals on any subject related to international studies, broadly defined. Particularly welcome are submissions related to our 2015 conference theme, “Innovations and Challenges in Teaching and Learning in a Globalizing World Order.” Our conference continues its collaboration with ISA sections International Ethics and Active Learning in International Affairs. In addition, ISA-West will award the Ole Holsti Disinguished Scholar Award, given annually to a scholar who has significantly influenced the ISA West region through an outstanding record of research, teaching and mentorship, as well as service to the International Studies Association West region. This year's recipient is Dr. Jacek Kugler.
http://www.isanet.org/Conferences/West-Pasadena-2015
‘The Future of Just War: Theoretical and Practical Challenges’
Date: October 7-9, 2015
Location: Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
The conference is hosted by the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School with generous support from the Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research, and in collaboration with the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace and the National Science Foundation.
The conference will explore issues in the ethics of war, just war theory, the moral implications of the future and changing nature of warfare, and related issues. The ethical implications of new, emerging, and future military technology — specifically cyberwarfare and unmanned and robotic weapons systems — will be the focus of several sessions.
https://jwtconference.wordpress.com/
‘Global Trends in War and Political Violence’
Date: October 8-10, 2015
Location: Springfield, Massachusetts
This year’s conference theme is Global Trends in War and Political Violence. Over the past century, we have witnessed episodes of extreme interstate and intrastate violence as well as periods of relative stability and decline in war and armed conflict. This conference encourages proposals from diverse theoretical, methodological, epistemological, and geographical approaches to examine the broad trends in interstate war, intrastate war, and political violence over the past century, the current state of these issues, and what future trends might look like. In particular, we seek proposals that address the following sets of questions: What are the long-term trends on war, conflict, and political violence? What explains these long-term trends and how are these patterns changing? How effective are the norms, institutions, and practices designed to control and mitigate war and political violence? What are the likely future trends, and in particular, how will violence manifest itself in an era that seems likely to be characterized by further globalization, urbanization, civil war, and the emergence of new and varied non-state actors? And, how are factors such as climate change, resource scarcity, demographic stress, ethnic and religious strife, social and economic inequality, and environmental degradation, affecting, and likely to affect, longer-term trends in war and political violence?
http://www.isanet.org/Conferences/ISSS-ISAC-Springfield-2015
‘The Asia-Pacific Conference on Security and International Relations 2015’
Date: October 15-17, 2015
Location: Kobe, Japan
From classical thinkers’ works such as Aristotle’s Politka or Machiavelli’s Il Principe through to the seismic geo-political events over the last century, power as both a conception and commodity, has continually challenged the minds of security and international relations theorists. The dynamics of power and its associations with ideology, wealth and status now shape the contemporary world more visibly than ever as we enter into a time of global uncertainty. The uncertainties with respect to this power dynamic are a profound research challenge to all fields of the security and international relations discipline. As the conference theme of our inaugural Asia Pacific Conference on Security & International Relations, we together seek to offer some explanation of its magnetism and its mechanisms.
Our own Asia-Pacific region is fast becoming the core center of influence and the driving force and engine room of global progress. This requires an openness to engage in the strategic conversation of how the dynamics of power can be successfully managed, how Asia-Pacific nations can cooperate in areas of common interest, and how the differences that inevitably arise in the power relationship between major states can be resolved respectfully and equitably. We expect the theme of power to excite a number of stimulating research paths, and look forward to their outcomes as we gather in Kobe in October 2015.
http://iafor.org/conferences/apsec2015/
‘International Symposium: Youth and the Allure of Terrorism’
Date: October 18, 2015
Location: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Dr. Eric Davis (Department of Political Science) and Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud (Division of Global Affairs) are pleased to announce the forthcoming international symposium Youth and the Allure of Terrorism: Identity, Recruitment, and Public Diplomacy. Sponsored by the Office of the New Brunswick Chancellor Dr. Richard L. Edwards on behalf of Rutgers University President Barchi the symposium will bring together world renowned religious leaders, academicians, and activists from around the world to discuss the conceptual and practical challenges of identity, gender, and ideology in the dissemination of terrorism in the contemporary world.