IPSA RC44 & RC52 International Conference - Reimagining the Post-Westphalian Era: Climate Crisis and Networked Security

We are delighted to invite you to the IPSA RC44 & RC52 Conference, to be held at the Institute of Public Policies and International Relations/San Tiago Dantas Graduate Program in International Relations (UNESP, UNICAMP, and PUC-SP), in São Paulo, Brazil. The Conference will be organized in lectures, roundtables, and thematic sections, and will welcome colleagues from a diversity of disciplines connected to the main theme Reimagining the Post-Westphalian Era - Climate Crisis and Networked Security.

The Conference will be in-person. A few thematic sections will be held entirely online on 3 August 2026 to allow participation by those who are unable to travel to São Paulo.

RC44 & RC52 invite paper and panel proposals from professors, researchers, professionals, and postgraduate students (master's and doctoral candidates) that explore transformations in global security, governance, and democratization eight decades after the founding of the United Nations. We welcome contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

Complex security environment and changing strategic dynamics

- Multipolar competition, weakened alliance commitments, and regional conflicts;

- Nuclear proliferation, changing deterrence dynamics, new energy resources, and radiation risks;

- Bio-threats and pandemics, AI convergence, biochemical weapons, and pollutants.

Networked Security Challenges

– Cyber warfare, digital surveillance, and data governance;

– Non-state armed actors, private militias, and hybrid threats;

– Impacts on state sovereignty, human rights, and electoral integrity.

Geopolitics, Governance, and Climate Security Architecture

- Multipolarity, climate risks, and shifting international alignments and coalitions;

- Democratic backsliding and authoritarian adaptation in the climate era - how regimes use security narratives and impacts on pluralism;

- Data governance, cybersecurity, and environmental threats to critical infrastructure;

- Non-state actors, hybrid threats, and evolving security governance structures.

 Human Security, Vulnerability, and Social Resilience

- The role of subnational governments, multilevel governance frameworks, and decentralized institutional innovations in addressing climate-related security challenges;

- Climate resilience and community-based social protection;

- Gender and climate security.

Climate-induced resource conflicts, water scarcity, land degradation, and competition over critical minerals

- Migration, displacement, and border politics under climate pressure;

- Health security: pandemics, pollution, and biohazards in climate-stressed environments;

- Gender and intersectionality in climate vulnerability and response policies;

- Indigenous knowledge and community-based security responses.

Urban Systems, Finance, and Institutional Innovation

- Urban resilience and security infrastructure in rapidly urbanizing, climate-impacted regions;

- Climate finance innovations, development cooperation, and peacebuilding strategies;

- Legal responses, litigation, human rights frameworks, and accountability mechanisms for climate security harms.

Populism, Polarization, and Democratic Backsliding

– Security narratives in populist and re-nationalizing movements;

– Majoritarian exclusion, minority rights, and political violence;

– Mechanisms to safeguard pluralism in emerging democracies.

Institutional Innovation and Transregional Architectures

– Lessons from UN reforms, UN80 initiatives, and BRICS+ alternatives;

– African Union, ASEAN, and South American security cooperation;

– South–South collaboration, multilateralism, and governance experimentation.

Conflict and Conflict Resolution

– Peacekeeping: comparative analysis of UN missions, AU standby forces, and ad hoc coalitions;

– Peacebuilding process: reconciliation, governance, and the protection of human rights in multipolar contexts;

– Local ownership, mandate design, operational limitations, and effectiveness of interventions. 

IMPORTANT DATES

• November 15, 2025: Abstract submission opens
• February 15, 2026: Abstract submission deadline
• March 15, 2026: Acceptance emails sent to presenters
• March 16, 2026: Registration opens
• April 30, 2026: Registration Deadline for Participants in the Programme
• May 15, 2026: Online Programme Published
• June 30, 2026: Submission of full papers to discussants
• August 3, 2026: Panels exclusively online (from 17:00 to 21:00 UTC)    
• August 4-6, 2026: In-Person Conference to be held in São Paulo, Brazil