EISA

How Do We Think About Tech Disruption and World Politics?
2025-12-17 15:30 - 17:45 (Europe/Prague) | Zoom Event
ZOOM EVENT: WEDNESDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2025, 15:30 CET

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Are we entering a period in which international relations are being reshaped in fundamental ways by developments in technology? From advances in artificial intelligence to the geopolitics of cyber operations, from digital infrastructures to the growing involvement of private technology companies in global security, technological innovation increasingly appears to intersect with the core concerns of International Relations. Yet it remains an open question how far-reaching these transformations truly are—and how they might affect concepts long central to the discipline: sovereignty, influence, private actors, balance of power, offence-defence capabilities, among others. This online discussion aims to provide space for IR scholars to reflect on whether, and in what ways, technological developments are transforming global politics. Are these changes profound enough to challenge established assumptions, or do they simply call for familiar theoretical tools to be applied in new contexts?
Speakers

Julia Calver, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Leiden
Tobias Liebetrau, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen
Andrew Liaropoulos, Associate Professor, University of Piraeus
Rebecca Slayton, Associate Professor, Cornell University

After Venezuela: Regional and Global Consequences of U.S. Intervention
2026-01-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom Event
ZOOM EVENT: MONDAY, 19 JANUARY 2026, 18:00 – 19:30 CET

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The U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro have reopened questions many assumed were settled since the end of the Cold War. For decades, South American governments believed that direct U.S. intervention in the region was politically unthinkable. European allies, meanwhile, relied on the United States as the principal guarantor of a rules-based international order. Today, those assumptions no longer hold. We are now compelled to rethink core concepts such as sovereignty, alliance politics, order, and hegemony.
This online event examines the fundamental change underway in U.S. foreign policy and its regional and global consequences, as revealed by the intervention in Venezuela. Experts from diverse areas will discuss what kind of change this represents, and what consequences it brings — for the United States and for the international order. How might Latin American governments respond to the realization that intervention is once again possible, and what strategic options exist for states seeking autonomy and security? What does this moment mean for Europe, whose political order and strategic identity have long depended on multilateralism and close partnership with Washington? And finally, what should we expect for cases such as Greenland, where small and strategically exposed territories sit at the intersection of U.S. strategic ambition and shifting global power politics?
Speakers

Elizabeth N. Saunders, Professor of Political Science; Director, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University
Leslie Wehner,  Full Professor and Chair of International Relations, University of Bath
Tom Long, Professor in International Relations, University of Warwick
Rasmus Brun Pedersen, Associate Professor, Aarhus University
Sonia Lucarelli, Full Professor,  University of Bologna

Moderator

Revecca Pedi, Associate Professor, University of Macedonia, EISA Governing Board Member

Dealing with precarity as an ECR: Practical advice to navigate academic transitions
2026-01-22 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom Event
ZOOM EVENT: THURSDAY, 22 JANUARY 2026, 18:00 – 19:30 CET

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Early Career Researchers (ECRs) often face significant uncertainty as they navigate multiple transitions from doctoral studies to academic careers. This online event creates space for an open and honest conversation about both the structural challenges and lived experiences of researchers in the early stages of their careers.
The panel brings together speakers at different career stages, including post-doctoral researchers, tenure-track scholars, and policy professionals pursuing research careers in think tanks, thus offering diverse perspectives on post-degree career pathways. Introductory statements by the panelists will be followed by an interactive exchange driven by participants’ questions. Discussion themes may include job insecurity, work-life balance, and strategies for professional growth.
The event is organized by the European International Studies Association (EISA) Early Career Development Group (ECD). The ECD group was established as part of EISA’s broader professional development activities for early career researchers and regularly organises events aimed at fostering networking and information sharing among ECRs. You can follow ECD activities on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecd-group-eisa/) and Bluesky (@ecdeisa.bsky.social).
Speakers

Sara Berlotto, PhD, Italy China Council Foundation
Ashlyn Hand, PhD, Southern Methodist University
Huanyu Zhao, PhD, University of Ghent
Silke Zoller, PhD, Kennesaw State University

Online Writing Retreat for Early Career Scholars
2026-02-25 13:00 - 16:00 | Zoom Event
ZOOM EVENT: WEDNESDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2026, 13:00-16:00 CET

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Description

The EISA ECD Group is organizing an Online Writing Retreat for Early Career Scholars aimed at sharing writing strategies and creating a friendly, encouraging environment for writing. The event does not require any prior preparation – just booking and dedicating time for focused writing on anything you are currently working on: your thesis, paper, or application. At the beginning, Dr. Tom F. A. Watts will share suggestions and his experience on writing. The event will continue with a writing retreat and conclude with a brief reflection at the end.
Structure

13:05-13:10 – introduction of the event
13:10-13:30 – writing strategies with Dr. Tom F. A. Watts
13:30-15:45 – online writing retreat
15:45-16:00 – participant reflection

Speaker

Dr. Tom F.A. Watts, Postdoctoral Researcher, the Center of War Studies, University of Southern Denmark

IR 101 Under Stress: Theory and Practice at Odds
2026-04-15 16:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Event
EISA-ISA JOINT ROUNDTABLE ZOOM EVENT: WEDNESDAY, 15 APRIL 2026, 16:00 CET

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Description

International Relations has long offered conceptual maps for making sense of global politics. Today, many of the discipline’s core concepts are being actively stress-tested by contemporary political practice. Leaders operate in a world in which the velocity of change, the intensity of geopolitical competition, and the personalization of power often outpace the analytical frameworks we rely on to interpret them. This roundtable asks what IR’s classical paradigms still offer to contemporary decision-makers. How might global politics look different if leaders—from Washington, to Brussels, to Moscow, to Beijing—took IR 101 seriously? And conversely, to what extent are the assumptions underpinning IR 101 unsettled by a world in which individual leaders, domestic politics, unconventional means and shifting norms play increasingly decisive roles? At the same time, IR scholars face their own challenge: how to remain intellectually relevant without overstating the discipline’s capacity to predict or prescribe or how to use old concepts to explain an emerging order in class. The discussion explores whether core concepts—power, order, sovereignty, influence, and cooperation—require rethinking, or whether they continue to anchor understanding of international change; and what can IR offer leaders and publics navigating a moment in which expertise is contested, institutions are strained, and world order itself appears unsettled? Through a joint EISA–ISA conversation and cross-community dialogue, this event invites an open exploration of what IR theory helps us see when the conditions that once stabilized international politics are under pressure—and why that perspective may matter now more than ever.
Speakers

Beatrix Futak-Campbell, University of Leiden
Maria Malksoo, University of Copenhagen
James Goldgeier, American University
Paul Poast, University of Chicago

EWIS 2026
2026-07-01 - 2026-07-03 | İzmir University of Economics, Fevzi Çakmak, Sakarya Cd. No:156, 35330 Balçova/İzmir, İzmir, Turkey
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13th European Workshops in International Studies
İzmir University of Economics, 1-3 July 2026
The European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS), launched by the EISA in 2013, have fast established themselves as a spirited place for the European IR community to engage in sustained, in-depth discussion with a diverse range of peers from various institutions, countries, disciplines and career stages. EWIS has proven to be a popular and productive format, perfect for preparing special issues, edited volumes or exploring new ideas, themes and directions in a vibrant and friendly atmosphere.

PEC 2026
2026-09-01 - 2026-09-04 | ISCTE- University Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
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19th Pan-European Conference on International Relations,ISCTE- University Institute of Lisbon, 1-4 September 2026
We are delighted to invite you to the 19th EISA Pan-European Conference on International Relations (PEC), to be held at ISCTE- University Institute of Lisbon on 1-4 September 2026.
In 2026, our flagship event will take place in Portugal, at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, offering a unique vantage point for exploring contemporary international relations. Following the remarkable success of PEC 2025 in Bologna, we will gather in Lisbon’s inspiring scholarly environment at the ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon.
As per our tradition, PEC 2026 will be organized in thematic sections, both standing and new ones, and will welcome colleagues from a diversity of disciplines relating to international studies, from Europe and beyond. Plenary sessions will highlight key issues in current debates in international relations, with leading experts from our association. We will also offer opportunities through our Early Career Development Group events, social events, and professional development activities to nurture our community.
The EISA’s Mobility Fund has been increased over the years, and we will continue providing support for those in financial need to attend, ensuring our conference remains more inclusive and accessible. We are committed to making the 19th edition of our conference as welcoming and rewarding as possible, where ideas can be formulated, debated, criticized, shaped and sharpened through mutual respect and understanding.
It is this spirit which has made EISA’s Pan-European Conferences the leading annual event in International Relations in Europe, and we are looking forward to continuing this tradition Portugal’s vibrant capital!

13th Exploratory Symposia in Rapallo
2026-10-25 - 2026-10-28 | Rapallo, Rapallo, Italy
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Are you preparing a grant proposal, a special issue, an edited book, or setting up a new research network? The EISA Exploratory Symposia offers an excellent opportunity to meet in groups to pursue collaborative work.
The Exploratory Symposia aim to facilitate two kinds of research groups:

Newly established groups that would like to meet at an early stage of a research project to progress it;
Already established research groups that would like to meet to work out how to further their research agenda.

We encourage in particular participants and section chairs of the Pan-European Conference (PEC) on International Relations and European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS) to apply to continue their work through the Exploratory Symposia.
In 2026, EISA will host its 13th Exploratory Symposia for members in the town of Rapallo on the Portofino Coast in Italy, 25th October to 28th October 2026.
