Call for Papers: IPS Belgium Seminar Series 2027
Aims
After a fruitful sixth seminar series organized between January 2026 and June 2026, the IPS Belgium organising committee is pleased to invite submissions for a new seminar series beginning in November 2026.
As a transdisciplinary approach to the study of International Relations (IR), International Political Sociology (IPS) offers alternative lenses to understand global politics and transnational relations through a wide range of analytical perspectives and empirical research strategies. By questioning the fragmentation of traditional IR categories such as the domestic/international divide, high/low politics, or rationalist/constructivist approaches, IPS casts a light on the power dynamics at play in these entangled spaces and on their outcomes. IPS brings insights from sociology, anthropology, geography, history, among others, into the analysis of international relations. One of its key aims is to question and analyse the tensions and the connections between the concepts of the international, the political and the social. Contemporary IPS research embraces ethnographic and other anthropological/sociological methodologies, and employs a range of conceptual traditions, including (but not limited to): deconstruction, Foucauldian and Bourdieusian approaches, postcolonial and decolonial thought, queer and feminist theory, assemblage and materiality theory, Deleuzian perspectives, and critical race theory.
IPS Belgium provides a platform for scholars to present and debate their research. We aim to create a space for discussion and to foster collaborations for anyone sharing an interest in the conceptual, ontological and methodological implications of the IPS perspective. From PhD candidates to senior scholars, all researchers in the humanities and social sciences are welcomed to participate in the seminar and present their work.
Themes in IPS
IPS includes various themes and research interests. We particularly welcome papers about (but not limited to) the following themes:
• Migration, mobilities and borders
• Postcolonial and decolonial thought
• (In-)Security and surveillance practices
• Technologies of governance
• Science and Technology Studies, data practices
• Socio-legal, critical legal studies approaches
• Queer, trans, and feminist theory
• Politics of emotions
• Citizenship and sovereignty
• Social mobilizations
• Environmental challenges
• Expertise circulation and knowledge production
• Fieldwork methodologies
• ...
Programme
The seminar series will run from November 2026 to March 2027. Each seminar (2 hours) will be devoted to the discussion of two-three work-in-progress papers in English (8,000-10,000 words of a journal article, a thesis or book chapter,...). Feedback on the papers will be provided by an invited senior academic and by seminar participants. The discussion will be followed by Q&A with the audience. All registered participants will receive the paper in advance and are encouraged to contribute to the discussion.
The purpose of the IPS Belgium seminar series is to foster dynamic exchanges, therefore, all selected participants are expected to attend regularly and actively. In addition to presenting their paper, each selected participant will serve as discussant for one other paper in another session of the series.
The seminars will be held in-person. The seminars will take place at the following dates and places (tbc) at 2 p.m. :
November 13, 2026 - Antwerp University
January 22, 2027 - Ghent University
March 12, 2027 - Université Libre de Bruxelles
In addition, we are planning an in-person event as a highlight of this year’s series in May 2027.
Application
Please send your title and abstract (max. 300 words), together with a short bio and a description of how your research relates with IPS (max. 100 words) to ipsseminar.belgium@gmail.com by September 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM CET. Notifications of acceptance will be sent early October 2026.
Do reach out if you want to join the mailing list to be informed of our future activities or if you have any questions.
(Post-)Doctoral organisers
Fer AVAR (UAntwerp) - Morgane GHYS (ULB) - Marie KWON (ULiège and ENS-PSL) - Laura LUCIANI (UGent and VUB) - Alexander SCHLEPPER (UAntwerp) - Zeger VERLEYE (UAntwerp and Utrecht University)
Senior academic advisors
Rocco BELLANOVA (VUB) - Denis DUEZ (USL-B) - Marijn HOIJTINK (UAntwerpen) - Julien JEANDESBOZ (ULB) - Julien POMARÈDE (ULiège) - Christophe WASINSKI (ULB)
More information on www.doingips.org/ips-belgium.