PhD Seminar Series in International Political Sociology (2026-2027)
Description
Organised by the research group DoingIPS and PhD students in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, the Department of Sociology, Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London, and the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick.
Now into its 9th year, the ‘Doing IPS’ PhD Seminar Series introduces graduate students to research inspired by International Political Sociology’s (IPS) commitment to challenge methodological and conceptual assumptions in their research disciplines, and ask new questions about transdisciplinary modes of inquiry. It will address the need for doctoral candidates to have a forum dedicated to IPS where they can: (1) present their work and receive feedback from peers and senior academics in the field; (2) engage with contemporary IPS research designs and debates; and (3) develop transdisciplinary and cross-institutional relationships with a view to facilitating further discussions and collaborations around common research themes. Lastly, the series will strengthen the analytical and evaluative skills of early-career researchers.
The series runs for 10 months, starting in September, usually meeting on the last Friday of each month from 3-5 pm. In each seminar, two participants have the chance to present their work in progress on IPS to PhD student colleagues and senior academics from universities across London and the UK who work in the field of IPS. The seminars will rotate between King’s College London and Queen Mary University of London, with a special session at the University of Warwick
In addition to our regular seminars, we organise special events around IPS topics and debates. Check this page regularly for updates.
Sponsor
The seminar series is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council’s London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS-DTP).
Doctoral student organisers
Madeleine Berry, School of Society and Environment, Queen Mary University of London
Antonia Zawalski, Department of War Studies, King’s College London
Manjima Anjana, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick
Senior academic organisers
Jef Huysmans, Professor of International Politics, School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London
Mirko Palestrino, Lecturer in Sociology, School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London
Hannah Owens, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick
Programme
The series will run from September 2025 to June 2026, usually meeting on the last Friday of the month. In each two-hour seminar, two participants introduce their work in progress (thesis chapter, book chapter, or journal manuscript) to the group and invite a senior academic to serve as discussant. The discussion is followed by a question-and-answer session with the group. All participants are expected to make every effort to attend the seminars and are expected to have read the papers in advance. Presenters are encouraged to invite their supervisors and colleagues interested in their work.
Date: 25 September 2026
Host Institution: Queen Mary University of London
Presenter: Albert C. Cano (London School of Economics and Political Science), ‘Warpeace or the Missing Signifier of the International: On Liminal Violence and the Gaze of Ideology’.
Discussant:
Presenter: Manjima Anjana (University of Warwick), ‘The Many Lives of Carbon Dioxide Removal’.
Discussant:
Date: 30 October 2026
Host Institution: King’s College London
Presenter: Kazimier Lim (London School of Economics and Political Science), ‘Who Owns the Skies? Aeropolitical Imaginaries and Reconceptualising Sovereignty at the 1910 Paris International Air Navigation Conference’.
Discussant:
Presenter: Hongli Liu (King’s College London), ‘Queering as Not-White-Enough (?): The British Imperial Sovereignty through the Ilbert Bill 1883’.
Discussant:
Date: 27 November 2026
Host Institution: Queen Mary University of London
Presenter: Meredith Warren (Queen Mary University of London), ‘Constructing climate change litigation: how legal stories shape new world(s)’.
Discussant:
Presenter: Sarah Khan (University of Warwick), ‘Art as politics in the context of Kurdish diasporic cinema’.
Discussant:
Date: 11 December 2026*
*The December seminar will be held on the second Friday of the month due to university closures during the holiday period.
Host Institution: King’s College London
Presenter: Keerti Narayanan (University of Warwick), ‘Financial Exclusion and Colonial Practices of Collateralization’.
Discussant:
Presenter: Judith Hoppermann (School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)), ‘Remaking Political Order Through Assistance Provision: Hybrid Armed Actors’ Refugee Governance in the Syrian Borderlands’.
Discussant:
Date: 29 January 2027
Host Institution: Queen Mary University of London
Presenter: Lisa Pleijzier (University of Oxford), ‘The Lives and Afterlives of a Temperature Target’
Discussant:
Presenter: Brunno Cunha (Queen Mary University of London), ‘Distorting the international: for an analytics of urban-international entanglements’.
Discussant:
Date: 26 February 2027
Host Institution: King’s College London
Presenter: Yujie Tao (Queen Mary University of London), ‘How does war influence a state's international status?’
Discussant:
Presenter: Kira Tuominen (King’s College London), ‘Climate and mobility justice: Counter-knowledge and practice of struggle’
Discussant:
Date: 26 March 2027
Host Institution: Queen Mary University of London
Presenter: Antonia Zawalski (King’s College London), ‘Antimilitarism in the Context of Germany's 'Zeitenwende': An Intersectional Analysis of Resistance’
Discussant:
Presenter: Madeleine Berry (Queen Mary University of London) ‘Seeking Safety via Roxham Road: Taxis and Asylum Seeker Journeys in the Canada-US borderlands’
Discussant:
Date: 30 April 2027
Host Institution: King’s College London
Presenter: Victoria Devars (University of Oxford), ‘Militarism in Kanaky / New Caledonia’
Discussant:
Presenter: Lynessa Griffith (City St George's University of London), ‘Everyday Diplomacy: Black Women's Experiences within the UK Diplomatic Milieu’.
Discussant:
Date: 28 May 2027
Host Institution: University of Warwick
Presenter: Edgar Paysant (Sciences Po), ‘How do they militarise a travesty? Militarisation as deviancy after empire’.
Discussant:
Presenter: Deanndre Chen (University of Oxford), ‘Hungry for a different answer: food sovereignty movements and critical approaches to International Relations’
Discussant:
Date: 25 June 2027
Host Institution: Queen Mary University of London
Presenter: David Thomas (University of Sussex), ‘How Stiegler’s Mnemotechnics Can Explain the Far Right and Operationalise Resistance through Reoriented Subjectivities’
Discussant:
Presenter: Nicola Armstrong (Queen Mary University of London), ‘Visual Communication, gender justice and the Me Too effect’
Discussant: