Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions in an Uncertain World

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions in an Uncertain World

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 - Fri, 14 Oct 2022

Kingston, Canada

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View Call for Proposals for this Event


Organized by: RC14 - Politics & Ethnicity, RC28 - Comparative Federalism and Multilevel Governance, Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity, Queen’s University


Contact: ipsakingston2022@gmail.com 

This colloquium will bring together two IPSA research committees - RC14-Politics and Ethnicity and RC28-Comparative Federalism and Multilevel Governance – to examine the opportunities and challenges of building peace, justice and strong institutions in a period of global uncertainty and instability.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the world’s shared plan to end extreme poverty, reduce inequality, and protect the planet by 2030. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions makes a global appeal to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, to ensure justice and to establish democratic institutions. Framed in terms of SDG 16, the colloquium will provide the opportunity to query the many seemingly intractable challenges facing the world today, including but not limited to violent conflicts, refugee crises, failed states, failing leadership, gender inequality, corruption, governance challenges and weak institutions.

We invite paper and panel proposals that engage empirically, conceptually, and methodologically with SDG 16 and beyond. Possible topics include but are not limited to:

Ethnic Peace, Justice and Security

  • Rethinking the role of intergroup relations in the  context of COVID-19;
  • Peacebuilding and statebuilding in divided societies;
  • The role of federalism, decentralization, power-sharing and other forms of autonomy in peace-building and conflict resolution;
  • Electoral accountability, political parties and integration in ethnically diverse societies.

Democracy, Governance, and Institutions

  • Challenges to democratic governance and decentralization in the context of COVID-19;
  • The role of state and non-state actors in recognizing diversity;
  • Links between federalization and democratization processes – similarities and differences;
  • Gender and intersectional perspective on representation;
  • Protest, dissent and democratic governance.

We aim to feature the best of contemporary social science and humanities research, including new research by established academics as well as by early career scholars and by practitioners.

Paper proposals should include contact details and a short bio of the author(s), title and an abstract of no more than 200 words.

Panel proposals must include:

  • A minimum of three papers and a maximum of four papers;
  • Contact details for all paper-givers, and the discussant and chair;
  • Panel title and short description of panel (no more than 200 words);
  • Individual paper titles and short abstract (no more than 100 words).

The colloquium will be held in person and online at the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, with an option to participate virtually. Please indicate your preferred presentation format (in-person or virtual), along with your time zone, at the time of submission of your proposal. 

For those travelling to Kingston, we will aim to support a select pool of graduate students/early career academics with a bursary to partially cover travel expenses. The decision on the pool of recipients will be made at the time of paper selection. Please indicate whether you wish to be considered for a bursary at the time of submission.

Submissions are due Monday, July 18. Notice of acceptance will be circulated the week of August 1. Submissions should be emailed to: ipsakingston2022@gmail.com 

For more information.

The organizing committee is closely monitoring the state of the COVID-19 global pandemic and recognizes that, as this is an evolving situation, a certain degree of flexibility is required. Please note that all in-person participants are required to follow all Canadian and Ontario travel and public health guidelines, as well as university policy regarding COVID-19, which are subject to change with short notice based on pandemic conditions. At this time, you must be fully vaccinated to enter Canada. For more information on travel regulations, please see.  

Co-sponsored by RC14 Politics & Ethnicity, RC28 Comparative Federalism and Multilevel Governance, and the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity, Queen’s University

Co-convenors: Allison McCulloch and Sheetal Sheena Sookrajowa (on behalf of RC14); Soeren Keil and Michael Breen (on behalf of RC28)