Serbian Political Science Association International Annual Conference: “Reordering of the World” – Call for Papers and Panels
20th Serbian Political Science Association (SPSA) International Annual Conference
“Reordering of the World”
University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science, October 23rd–24th, 2026
Call for Panels and Papers
We are pleased to announce the call for papers and panels for the upcoming 20th International Annual Conference of the Serbian Political Science Association (SPSA).
The world is at an important juncture. The past year was marked by a record number of wars in the 21st century. Recent and ongoing armed conflicts in the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America have received special attention from the world public, given the participation of great powers with opposing geopolitical interests in these processes.
Numerous examples of open violations of international law, a propensity to threaten and use force without seeking a diplomatic solution, and the recent withdrawals from international organizations have sparked debate over whether we are witnessing the crisis, the termination, the transformation, or the reshaping of the existing world order. This is also a time of great confrontation and reexamination of existing knowledge, theories, and concepts that have served to understand the world so far.
Scientific and political discourse is discussing whether the world is currently in “uncertainty” or has already entered “chaos”? Are we witnessing only a “challenge” or a definitive “collapse” of the liberal international order? Are we now closer to some kind of “multi-order” world, or are we currently in the phase of a “jungle world”, in which war is completely normalized, and how long could such “disorder” last? Finally, how and is it possible to overcome the current “geopolitical recession” and emerge from the “interregnum” in which “the old world is dying, and the new world is struggling to be born”? Is the solution in the revitalization of the global order, or should the solution be sought in regional orders, which would be reduced to a single “multiplex world order”? Finally, is this, in fact, again a matter of the redistribution of power between global actors, requiring the reorganization of the order, as has been the case many times in history?
In addition, important questions have been raised about how these global processes affect changes in domestic politics, political systems and the character of regimes in different countries around the world, what is the role of the media in the entire process and whether this transformation will fundamentally affect them, and what are the new social challenges of this transformation that social policy and other public policies will seek to address. Also, in the Balkan context, a special focus has been placed on how to position small and medium-sized states in these turbulent times.
To stimulate academic and social debate on these and related topics, the theme of this year’s jubilee 20th Serbian Political Science Association (SPSA) International Annual Conference is “Reordering of the World”.
Possible thematic areas include (but are not limited to):
- The status of political science and international relations in times of deep crisis of the international order;
- Possibilities of reconceptualization of order in political theory: between power and law;
- Perspectives of power transition in the international system and possible alternatives to the liberal international order;
- Crisis and transformation of the world order: actors, processes, mechanisms;
- Geopolitics and geoeconomics of regional transformations: the Balkans and other world regions;
- Crisis and perspectives of transatlantic relations;
- Transformation of the European Union: from normative to geopolitical power?
- Foreign policies of revisionist and status quo states in times of global turbulence;
- Foreign policies of small states in times of global crisis;
- Security crises and the changing character of wars;
- New global challenges, risks and security threats;
- Cyberspace as a domain for geopolitical competition;
- New technologies and media as means of (de)stabilization of the order;
- Ideas, ideologies and identities in the shaping of contemporary orders;
- The status of the citizen, society and state in times of crisis of the liberal international order;
- The crisis of democracy and challenges to the rule of law in contemporary states;
- Serbia and the crisis of the international order.
Paper and Panel Proposals:
We are interested in receiving both paper and/or panel proposals. Deadline for submissions is July 1st, 2026. Proposals can be sent in English, Serbian, or in the regional languages.
We welcome applications from graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and research institute staff, and practitioners from a variety of disciplines, including political science, law, international relations, public policy, economics, etc.
Paper proposals should include the proposal (title of the paper, abstract up to 250 words, and 4-5 keywords), and a short bio of author(s) (up to 150 words, including position held, academic background, and contact details).
Panel proposal should be submitted by a prospective panel chair, and must include a panel title, a short description of the panel (up to 100 words), three or four paper proposals which should be presented, and a panel discussant. Additionally, short bios of all panel participants should be included (up to 150 words). Panel proposal should be submitted in a single form. Please note that no author should be listed on more than one paper within the same panel.
All paper and panel proposals should be submitted through the online submission form:
All applicants will be notified of the status of their submissions by July 15th, 2026.
Conference fee is 70 EUR. For SPSA members, researchers employed at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science, and for doctoral students, participation is free of charge.
If your proposal is accepted, we kindly request that you submit a draft paper by October 10th , 2026. The paper should adhere to the typical length of a journal article and will be circulated among the panel participants.
We look forward to your participation in the 20th SPSA Annual International Conference.
Important Dates:
- Abstract submission deadline: July 1st, 2026.
- Notification sent out by July 15th, 2026.
- Paper draft submitted by October 10th, 2026.
- Fees due: September 23rd, 2026.
- Conference dates: October 23rd–24th, 2026.
International Program Committee:
- Dragan R. Simić, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
- Marko Kovačević, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
- Milan Krstić, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
- Aleksandar Milošević, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
- Dejan Jović, University of Zagreb (Croatia)
- Jennifer Mitzen, The Ohio State University (USA)
- James Ketterer, Bard College (USA)
- Nikolaos Tzifakis, University of Peloponnese (Greece)
- Ana Bojinović Fenko, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
- Srđan Vučetić, University of Ottawa (Canada)
- Marko Babić, University of Warsaw (Poland)
- Christina Griessler, Andrassy University (Hungary)
