Democratization and Autocratization: IPSA 75th Anniversary Conference

Theme

Issues surrounding democratization and autocratization persist as pivotal challenges in contemporary political landscapes. Samuel Huntington notably coined the term "third wave" to describe the widespread democratic transitions occurring across the globe from the 1970s to the early 1990s. However, scholars have since observed a counter-trend, marked by movements toward autocracy in various regions since the 2000s. The current landscape is characterized by upheavals, including violent government overthrows, the erosion of democratic institutions by autocratic forces, substantial contestation of established power structures, and a prevailing disillusionment among segments of the population regarding liberal democratic institutions.

Organizing a conference on this critical theme in 2024 holds particular significance. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, an event identified by Huntington as the starting point of the “third wave” of democratization. Additionally, the International Political Science Association (IPSA) celebrates its 75th anniversary since its establishment in 1949. As an organization dedicated to advancing political science research globally, it is fitting for IPSA to host a three-day conference on the topic of democratization and autocratization in Lisbon, Portugal—the very location where the initial gunshot of the third wave of democratization resonated.

Against this backdrop, our three-day conference aims to delve into various facets of democratization and autocratization worldwide. We extend an invitation for papers and panels analyzing any aspect related to democratization and autocratization, spanning any region and time period, on individual case studies or with a comparative approach in any of the following areas:

• Elections and parties (party systems) in democratization and/or autocratization.
• Autocratization, populism and radical right/left parties.
• Autocratization trends and the quality of democracy.
• Democratization, autocratization, judiciary and rule of law.
• The economy in the democratization/autocratization processes.
• The military in the democratization and autocratization processes.
• The role of international relations in democratization/autocratization.
• The role of values, emotions, and cultural wars in democratization and autocratization.
• Migrations in democratization and/or autocratization processes.  
• Public policy and democratization/autocratization.
• Gender in democratization/autocratization processes.
• Nationalism and ethnicity in democratization and autocratization.
• The impact of autocratization on the governance process.

Program Committee 

Pablo Oñate
(Committee chair) IPSA President; Professor of political science at University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain)

Yuko Kasuya
IPSA President-Elect, Professor of political science at Keio University (Tokyo, Japan)

Dianne Pinderhughes
IPSA Past-President, Professor of political science at University of Notre Dame (Indiana, United States of America)

Madalena Meyer Resende
IPSA Vice-President, Professor of political science at NOVA University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal)

Keiichi Kubo
IPSA Committee for Research and Training Chair, Professor of political science at Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan)

Hasret Dikici-Bilgin
IPSA Summer Schools Coordinator, Professor of political science at Istanbul Bilgi University (Istanbul, Türkiye)

Call for Proposals | 27 February to 10 April 2024

The Call for Proposals is closed.

Paper Proposals

Submission of individual papers by author(s), which, if accepted, will be grouped into a panel at the discretion of the Program Committee. The paper proposal must be in English and should include:

• Paper author's full name
• Institution
• Country
• Paper title
• Paper abstract (200 words maximum)

Paper givers must commit to participating in person and may be asked to serve as chairs and/or discussants in the assigned panel.

Closed Panel Proposals

A closed panel proposal refers to a pre-organized and complete panel that includes 4-5 papers, a chair, and one or more discussants. A closed panel proposal must be in English and should include the following elements:

• Title
• Description outlining the panel's focus and objectives
• 1 Chair (Full name, affiliated institution and country)
• 1-2 Discussant(s) (Full name, affiliated institution and country)
• 4-5 Papers: For each paper, clearly indicate the author's full name, affiliated institution, country, paper title and abstract (200 words maximum)

All proposed panelists must commit to participating in person if the panel is selected.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All panel elements listed above should be included when you submit your proposal. Once submitted, you will be able to edit the elements of the panel proposal until 10 April 2024.

Guidelines for Full Papers

Main authors of accepted proposals will be asked to submit the complete paper in PDF format by 28 August 2024.

• A written paper, in English, no more than 12.000 words, single-spaced on letter-sized pages (8.5” x 11”) or A4.
• Authors are free to choose the citation style of their paper.

The submission link to upload the full paper will be provided to accepted authors by e-mail.

Conference Partner

Supporter

Sponsor

Preliminary Program

11 September 2024 | 8:30 – 20:30

12 September 2024 | 8:30 – 19:00

13 September 2024 | 8:30 – 18:30

Call for Proposals | 27 February to 10 April 2024

Refer to the Call for Proposals section for details.

Venue

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Av. de Berna 45 A, 1067-001
Lisboa, Portugal
MAP

Important Dates

Registration

Important Dates

Registration Fees

Individual Members of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) and the Associação Portuguesa de Ciência Política (APCP) benefit from a reduced registration fee to attend the conference.

Note: Invitation letters will be issued upon request to individuals who have registered and have an accepted role in the program. Invitation letters will not be issued to observers.

Country Group Lists

Foundation of IPSA

IPSA was founded in September 1949, when representatives from sixteen countries gathered at UNESCO House in Paris. That inaugural meeting was led by delegations from the national associations of IPSA’s four founding countries: the United States, Canada, India, and France. In late 1949, the first Executive Committee and Executive Secretary begun to put into place the structures that would enable IPSA to take up the challenge laid out in its constitution: "[promoting] the advancement of political science throughout the world."

The first article about the creation of IPSA, published in the UNESCO Courier in November 1949.

IPSA's First Logo

IPSA Letterhead used in the 1980's

Since its first World Congress of Political Science in Zürich in 1950, IPSA has organized 25 successful World Congresses and numerous conferences across the world and more than 25,000 people attended these international events.

7^th IPSA World Congress - Brussels, 1967

11^th IPSA World Congress - Moscow, 1979

20^th IPSA World Congress - Fukuoka, 2006

Today, IPSA publications, International Political Science Review and International Political Science Abstracts, as well as the IPSA Portal, seek to meet the needs of political scientists in different parts of the world. IPSA also organizes various Summer Schools for students and young researchers in collaboration with prominent universities and offers free IPSAMOOC - Massive Open Online Course - on its website.

A Roundtable Discussion Organized by IPSA  - Tokyo, 1982

IPSA Celebrated the 10^th Anniversary of the Establishment of its Permanent  Secretariat in Montréal - 2016

IPSA's first virtual conference, The UN at 75: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Multilateralism, was organized from 19-21 October 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. You can view the complete session videos on the conference page. 

The first virtual IPSA World Congress was held from 10-15 July 2021 and had 2,760 participants and became the second most attended event in the history of the Association, after the 2012 World Congress in Madrid. To access the daily highlights and selected session videos, please visit the Congress page.

IPSA organized the Open-Access Publishing: A New Era in Scholarly Communication conference onsite at Concordia University in Montreal and virtually from 13-14 September 2022 to contribute to the future of scholarly publishing. You can view the complete session videos on the conference page and access the conference photos on our Flickr account.

IPSA published its first open-access book, Does the UN Model Work? Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Multilateralism in 2022. Edited by Kim Fontaine-Skronski, IPSA Executive Director, Valériane Thool, Lecturer in International Law at the University of Sherbrooke, and Norbert Eschborn, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Canada, the book is composed of original articles from scholars and policy notes from practitioners based on the contributions to the Conference “The UN at 75: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Multilateralism”. Read this open-access book here.

The 2023 IPSA World Congress, held in Buenos Aires from July 15-19, proved a great success, with 3,096 registered participants from 102 countries.To access the daily highlights and selected session videos, please visit the Congress page.

We are proud that IPSA has accomplished its mission of creating a global, inclusive political science community, which today counts 61 national and regional associations, over 81 institutional members, and more than 4,000 individual members.

Invitation to partner with IPSA on the Democratization and Autocratization Conference

The Democratization and Autocratization conference is an opportunity to network with prominent scholars, international associations, NGOs, and students. Promote your institution or organization, support your brand, and maintain a high profile among delegates. 

The following opportunities exist for sponsorship and advertising. For more information, please consult the Sponsorship & Visibility Kit (button below) or contact Haluk Dag at exhibition@ipsa.org.

Sponsorship & Advertising Kit

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Contact Information: events@ipsa.org