2026 IIPPE Annual Conference

16th Annual Conference in Political Economy

Call for Proposals for Panels and Papers

Theme/Title:     Capitalism Moving Beyond Neoliberalism: Crises, Changes, and What Comes Next

Date:                    Wednesday, 9 September, to Saturday, 12 September, 2026
Venue:                 Lisbon, Portugal. Jointly hosted by University Institute of Lisbon and Lisbon University

IMPORTANT DATES (expected):
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION Platform OPENS: Monday, 15 December, 2025
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION Platform CLOSES: Sunday, 15 February, 2026
Notification of ACCEPTED PROPOSALS: Monday, 30 March, 2026
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION Platform OPENS: Monday, 30 March, 2026
REGISTRATION DEADLINE for PRESENTERS: Sunday, 3 May, 2026(the registration link stops working for presenters, but will remain open for auditors)
PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE PROGRAM opens on WHOVA conference platform: Monday,15 June 2026FINAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM published on WHOVA: Monday, 3 August, 2026
Registration Deadline for Auditors: Sunday, 6 September, 2026

CALL FOR ACADEMIC PAPERS AND ACTIVIST PROPOSALS (See submission instructions and submission link below)

During the 1970s, the world capitalist system began to experiment with a restructuring of its post-WWII configuration, primarily in order to raise profit rates and (closely related) restore social discipline. Inevitably, the new configuration of capitalism focused on shifting the existing distribution of produced and accumulated wealth further in favor of capital at the expense of working people. Four central pillars of the new system were financialization of the circuits of capital, eschewal of the use of fiscal policy and more broadly development, industrial and other policies, “free markets”, and a fundamental change in the way imperialism extracted wealth from the Global South (moving much low value-added production there, which was simultaneously one key to its attack on labor in the Global North). The restructuring accelerated after 1980, and already manifested limitations due to its internal contradictions by the 1990s. This new system of accumulation came to be called “neoliberalism”.

To try to respond to today’s economic, social, political, ecological and other crises, the world capitalist system has again greatly restructured since the Great Financial Crisis, and especially rapidly over the last half-decade. Financialization still permeates the system as witnessed by its current huge debt problems at all levels, though the institutional form of finance has changed greatly (especially, for example, the explosion of the role of non-bank, and therefore minimally regulated, financial intermediaries). But the three other pillars have at least partly crumbled. While mainstream economists still advocate “free trade”, the idea has no traction in government policies. Fiscal policy is increasingly used, developmental and industrial policies are back in fashion, and governments in the Global North now discourage the outsourcing of production to the Global South, in favor of “onshoring”.

The name “neoliberalism” indicated the roots of the dominant ideology and policy practice in classical economic liberalism and Austrian political economy, whose basic pillars included property rights in the means of production, “free markets”, and limited direct economic activity by the government. Not only are two of these now regularly disregarded in economic policy formulation, but a central aspect of the ideology of liberalism was that bourgeois democracy was the best form of government for capital. The wholesale abandonment of this in what is still the center of the world capitalist system, the United States, the greatly sharpened the political struggles in Europe, with echoes in the Global South. These transformations pose the question of the appropriateness of the name “neoliberalism” and, at least, the consideration of some modifying adjective(s) to highlight the difference in the nature of the world capitalist system today from what it was in the 1980s and 1990s.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS for PROPOSALS

1. General Remarks:

The format of IIPPE is inclusive and decentralized through its Working Groups, and aims to promote and foster political economists at all stages of their career. The role of the central organizing committee is limited to interfacing with the host institution and the local organizing committee, organizing the plenaries, and facilitating the conference overall.

While proposals for academic or activist presentations are made to a centralized conference platform, the decision to accept the proposals and the formation of the conference panels and their topics is made by the different Working Groups that constitute the core of IIPPE.

The IIPPE Annual Conference is an IN-PERSON, four-day conference. The first day, Wednesday, 9 September 2026, will be dedicated to a number of workshops and a plenary. All the academic and activism, film, & media panel presentations will take place from Thursday to Saturday (full day), 10 – 12 September 2026. We encourage everyone to come for THE FULL FOUR DAYS, where the workshops are a chance to address some issues in greater depth than any paper or panel can.

There will be plenaries at the end of all 4 days, with the 4th and last plenary traditionally presented by the Local Organizing Committee.

IMPORTAT NOTICE:
The OVERALL Conference Registration proceeds in TWO STEPS. Both are conducted electronically via the WHOVA Conference Platform.

STEP ONE: SUBMISSION of proposal to be presented. This is free of charge. You will receive an email from WHOVA confirming the “registration” of your SUBMISSION. This is NOT a registration for the CONFERENCE.

STEP TWO: REGISTRATION as a PRESENTER, only after your proposal has been accepted for presentation. This will require a CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE (see fee schedule and what the fee includes below.)
WHOVA will send you a receipt and a link allowing you to enroll yourself on the conference platform, giving you access to the conference program, participant list, and all communications before, during, and after the conference. WE SUGGEST YOU DO ENROLL YOURSELF.

2. General Rules for Submission:

The Proposal Submission Portal will be open from MONDAY, 15 DECEMBER, 2025 to SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY, 2026.

  • All proposals need to be made ELECTRONICALLY to the WHOVA conference platform.
  • Each presenter can submit ONLY ONE INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC PAPER. This can be a paper proposed by itself, or as part of a proposed panel, or a book discussion, or a roundtable, or as a co-presentation.
  • Each presenter can submit ONLY ONE ACTIVISM, FILM, & MEDIA PROPOSALof any type.
  • A person may, however, submit ONE INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC PAPER plus ONE ACTIVISM, FILM, & MEDIA PROPOSAL.
  • CO-AUTHORED PAPERS: if one or more co-authors jointly present a SINGLE PAPER, they WILL SHARE A SINGLE TIME SLOT ON A GIVEN PANEL. EACH CO-PRESENTER must submit the SAME PROPOSAL TITLE and abstractSEPARATELY ANDINDIVIDUALLY to the WHOVA platform.
  • Only registered, in-person presenters and co-presenters will be listed in the program. Co-authors who did not register and are not present will not be listed on the program.
  • EACH presenter must submit their paper or activist proposal INDIVIDUALLY, regardless of whether they are submitting as an individual, or as part of a panel, or as part of a stream of panels. (see below)

There are 4 TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS that can be made

  • proposals for an INDIVIDUAL paper
  • proposals for an entirePANEL OF 3 – 5 PRESENTERS*
  • proposals for a STREAM OF SEVERAL PANELS*
  • INDIVIDUAL proposals on ACTIVISM, FILM, & MEDIA to the activism, film & media WG

Submissions can be made

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PANELS OR STREAMS OF PANELS:
After each panel member has submitted their proposal for their paper INDIVIDUALLY, please send the TITLE of the PANEL (or the TITLES of the STREAM of related PANELS) and the NAMES of the individual PRESENTERS with the TITLE of their PAPERS to the WORKING GROUP COORDINATOR(s) where you would like to run your proposed panel or stream of panels, with a COPY to the CONFERENCE PROGRAM COMMITTEE at conference@iippe.org,
Send SUBMISSIONS OF PROPOSED PANELS to the ACTIVISM, FILM & MEDIA WORKING GROUP directly to committeeonactivism@gmail.com with a COPY to the CONFERENCE PROGRAM COMMITTEE at conference@iippe.org,

3. SUBMISSION instructions for INDIVIDUAL academic papers and activism, film, & media   proposals

You must submit your proposal ELECTRONICALLY through the ON-LINE LINK TO THE WHOVA PLATFORM given at the end of these instructions.

The WHOVA platform needs to issue a ‘TICKET’ in order to register a submitted proposal.

Therefore, on the FIRST PAGE, it is necessary to CHANGE ‘QUANTITY of TICKETS’ to 1, and then click ‘next’ to proceed.

On the SECOND PAGE, fill in all the required information and submit your abstract/proposal.

  • FIRST NAME(s), followed by SURNAME(s).Enter your name EXACTLY the way you want it to appear on the program and on any letters of invitation or certificates of attendance. You will NOT be able to subsequently insert or omit additional first or family names or change the spelling.
  • USE the SAME EMAIL ADDRESS for ALL INTERACTIONS with the 2026 IIPPE CONFERENCE: abstract submission, conference registration, conference payment, and any queries to the Conference Committee you might have. The automated submission system may drop you if you propose, register, or pay under different email addresses.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have opened a WHOVA ACCOUNT in past years WITH A DIFFERENT EMAIL ADDRESS, you need to change the CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS in your existing WHOVA account to the email address you will be using to submit your proposal, to register, and to pay in 2026, and use ONLY that email address for any interaction with the IIPPE 2026 conference.

Again: The automated submission system may drop you if you propose, register, or pay under different email addresses.

  • In the “GENDER” column, please indicate MALE, FEMALE, or OTHER.
  • You will be asked to open a WHOVA account, though you can also submit as a guest.

We recommend that you open a WHOVA account when you submit your proposal, because having a WHOVA account will give you access to all vital information during the conference, such as the overall program, location of rooms, and announcements from the Program Committee, as well as letting you interact with other attendees during the conference and also for 3 additional months after the end of the conference.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS for ACTIVISM, FILM, & MEDIA PROPOSALS:
When registering in the proposal portal select the category “Activism, Film and Media” and fill in the rest of the form. In the field “Short abstract of your paper/proposal” INDICATE EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE SUBMITTING: E.G. A PROPOSAL FOR A FILM SCREENING, MEDIA PROJECT, ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION, PANEL, etc. Whenever possible, add a link to your website or project.
  • After submitting your proposal, WHOVA will immediately send you an email confirming the submission of your proposal. If you do not receive an automatic email within a day, please contact conference@iippe.org .

PLEASE NOTE: The WHOVA automated system calls the PROPOSAL SUBMISSION [STEP ONE] “REGISTRATION”, but this is NOT the CONFERENCE REGISTRATION [which is STEP TWO]!!!

  • It ONLY MEANS that your PROPOSAL was CORRECTLY SUBMITTED and RECEIVED.
  • [STEP TWO], the actual REGISTRATION for the CONFERENCE and PAYMENT of the REGISTRATION FEE, will take place only AFTER YOUR SUBMISSION WAS ACCEPTED by the respective Working Group and you have been so notified.
  • Your notification of the acceptance of your proposal will include a new link to REGISTER & PAY for the CONFERENCE on MONDAY, 30 MARCH, 2026, at which time the CONFERENCE REGISTRATION PLATFORM will open.

4. Scheduling Conflicts

This is a 4-DAY CONFERENCE, from all day WEDNESDAY through all day SATURDAY.

If you have a SCHEDULING CONFLICT for a specific day, please let us know AT THE TIME OF YOUR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION. We will do our very best to accommodate your request, though you might not end up presenting with the Working Group for which you originally signed up.

In order not to disrupt the proper functioning of the Working Groups and their presentation streams, SCHEDULING REQUESTS ARE LIMITED to indicating only ONE DAY THAT YOU CAN NOT ATTEND, and REQUESTS AFTER THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE, SUNDAY, 3 MAY, 2026, WILL NOT BE ACCOMODATED.

5. Review Process

All proposals will be reviewed by the Working Group Coordinator(s) that they were submitted to. Around Monday, 30 March, 2026 you will receive notification if your proposal has been accepted or not. If it is accepted, you will receive an email with more information about the conference and the conference registration & payment procedure together with a registration link.

You will need to use the SAME EMAIL ADDRESS you used to SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL [STEP ONE] to REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE [STEP TWO] or the automated system may drop you.

6. Membership Fees and Conference Fees:

All presenters must be members of IIPPE.  Annual membership fees are:

  • Students, Unwaged, and Retired   €15.
  • All others (including Activists)        €30.

The CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE below INCLUDES the ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE.

The CONFERENCE FEE includes the LUNCHES for the three days of panel presentations, the COFFEE BREAKS for all four days, and the SOCIAL MIXERS on Wednesday and Friday, for ALL PRESENTERS.

The LUNCHES and MIXERS are not included for AUDITORS and for ACTIVISTS WHO ONLY PAY THE REDUCED CONFERENCE FEES (see below).

  • Presenters who are students, unwaged, or retired:                                                   €90.00
    (subsidized conference fee €75; membership €15)
  • All other Presenters without institutional support, except Activists                           €220.00
    (conference fee €190; membership €30)
  • All other Presenters with institutional support, except Activists                                €260.00
    (conference fee €230; membership €30)
  • On-line presenters (possible only in selected WGs)                                                   €40.00

(reduced conference fee €10; membership €30)

  • Activists (reduced conference fee €10; membership €30)                                          €40.00
  • Auditors                                                                                                                      €40.00           
  • Additional fee for Activists, Auditors, or Guests who join lunches & social mixers         €50.00   

7.  Refunds                                                                                                 

As IIPPE absorbs the registration and processing fees, we are unable to give full refunds for withdrawals.

In addition, withdrawals lead to extra workload and costs for the Program Committee. Taking this into account, we refund the following amounts according to the withdrawal notification date:

Notification of withdrawal until 30 June 2026:  70% of fees to be refunded; 

                                                       until 1 August 2026: 40% of the fees to be refunded;

                                                       after 1 August 2026: no refund. 

If you wish to withdraw from IIPPE 2026 and to request a partial refund of the registration fee, please email conference@iippe.org.

8.  LINK for PROPOSAL SUBMISSION [STEP ONE]

Here is the link for SUBMITTING THE PROPOSAL for your individual paper, activist proposal, documentary film, or media project.

https://whova.com/portal/registration/iyRb7I69POM4Ke2MmySe/98tvoutt

REMINDER NOTE: The link for the CONFERENCE REGISTRATION [STEP TWO], will only GO LIVE ON MONDAY, 30 MARCH, 2026.
It will be sent to you in the email notifying you that your proposal has been accepted.
To register AS A PRESENTER, you will need to USE THE SAME EMAIL THAT YOU USED TO SUBMIT your proposal or you will be locked out. Registration for presenters closes Sunday, 3 May, 2026.
Auditors are not restricted to specific emails and can register until Sunday, 6 September, 2026.