JOIN US IN LIVERPOOL TO EXPLORE 'POLITICAL FUTURES' IN 2023

The PSA is delighted to announce that our 73rd Annual Conference, convened by the University of Liverpool, will be held from 3 – 5 April 2023.

With sponsorship from our lead partners SAGE Publishing, this event will seek to explore Political Futures:

A series of global political shocks in the early 2020s have triggered intense discussion of future political orders, priorities and possibilities. In different ways, Covid-19, COP26 and the war in Ukraine all underline the limitations of contemporary politics, while providing stark reminders of how today’s political actions will shape humanity’s future.

About the call for papers: something new this year!

Based on feedback from this year’s conference, the PSA and the convenors from the University of Liverpool are taking a different approach for PSA23 which we believe will be beneficial to everyone wishing to submit.

In recognition of the vital role our Specialist Groups (SGs) play in our association, we are providing an exclusive timeframe for them to receive papers and propose panels ahead of the open call.

The SGs are calling for abstracts (maximum 300 words) from mid-July to early September, asking that potential presenters send these directly to them (please note the schedule below).  

You can find out more about the brilliant PSA Specialist Groups (SGs), including details of how to contact them here.

As well as themes/topics being sought by the SGs - and their communications to members, web pages and social-media postings will provide details of these - the conference convenors in the Department of Politics at the University of Liverpool would welcome submissions that relate to political futures in the broadest sense. Such contributions could include, but are not limited to:

• utopias and dystopias in political theory;
• the possible futures of democracy and authoritarianism;
• the impact of technological change on political systems;
• long- versus short-term thinking in political debate;
• the challenges of ‘future-proofing’ in public policy;
• generational change and its potential political impact;
• fictional and artistic visions of future politics;
• future political responses to critical risks and vulnerabilities
• the future of political science and international relations as academic disciplines

The Format

We are building on the successful format introduced in York for PSA 2022, in offering a ‘hybrid’ event whereby paper givers, and others, can attend in person or online. This will enable access to PSA members, as well as international scholars, who may find attending an in-person conference challenging. We are hoping to welcome approximately 600+ in-person guests and to accommodate up to 300 digital delegates.

Each panel will be held in a dedicated room at the conference venue, as well as on Zoom, with paper givers delivering their presentations both in-person and online supported by a conference assistant. In light of feedback from this year, the Chair (and preferably the Discussant) for each panel must be physically present in the room and we are not planning to accommodate any entirely online panels.

The Schedule

• 18 July to early September: SGs call for papers (abstracts) and propose panels
• 21 September to 5 October: Successful SG panellists submit their abstracts via Ex Ordo
• 6 October to 8 November: Open call for papers (abstracts)  
• 1 December to 13 February: Early-Bird registration opens*

* Registration fees will be confirmed ahead of the open call for papers.

Liverpool will provide an ideal location of relevance to the theme of PSA23: a port city that once pointed to the future, fell victim to a global order that it helped create, and whose past and future continually collide in its present-day political debates about heritage versus development. 

The convening team will be led by Professor of Politics, Stuart Wilks-Heeg. Dean of School, Professor Alison Fell said: “We look forward to welcoming you to the University of Liverpool to consider what the politics of the future may look like and humanity’s scope to address the challenges that lie ahead."

Chair of the PSA, Professor Roger Awan-Scully, added: “Liverpool will provide the perfect setting for PSA23. I am already looking forward to the chance for us all to meet in this wonderful city.”