Neoliberalism and Contemporary Capitalism Working Group

16th Annual Conference of the International Initiative for Promoting Political Economy (IIPPE)
 September 9-12, 2026, Lisbon, Portugal
Jointly hosted by the University Institute of Lisbon and Lisbon University 

Capitalism Moving Beyond Neoliberalism: Crises, Changes, and What Comes Next
  Call for Papers: Neoliberalism and Contemporary Capitalism Working Group

Submit a paper or panel proposal by 15 February 2026 at https://iippe.org/
 Important: Please select the Neoliberalism Working Group when submitting your proposal

The IIPPE Neoliberalism and Contemporary Capitalism Working Group brings together researchers interested in the material basis of neoliberalism, its national varieties, and alternatives to it. As the contemporary form of global capitalism, neoliberalism is based on the systematic use of state power to impose a hegemonic project of recomposition of the rule of capital in each area of economic and social life, under the ideological veil of ‘non-intervention’. This is guided by the current imperatives of the international reproduction of capital, with the financial markets and the interests of the US capital to the fore. Politically, by insulating markets and transnational investors from popular demands, and through the imperative of labour control to secure international competitiveness, neoliberalism also severely curtails democratic possibilities. Neoliberalism has also created an income-concentrating dynamics of accumulation that has proven resistant to efforts by Keynesian and reformist interventions.

Coincidentally, the theme of the next IIPPE conference questions whether contemporary capitalism is still underpinned by neoliberalism. Accordingly, the Neoliberalism and Contemporary Capitalism Working Group invites paper and panel proposals that call attention to numerous different areas of research related to the very existence of neoliberalism. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following probes:

  • Are we experiencing a crisis in neoliberalism, or the crisis of neoliberalism?
  • Is the US global hegemony inherent to (or inevitable for) neoliberalism?
  • Are ‘trade wars’ mutually exclusive with the neoliberal system of accumulation?
  • What are the implications of ‘capitalism beyond neoliberalism’ on class structures?
  • What are the potential implications of a post-neoliberal capitalism for the factions within the bourgeoisie?
  • Are state interventionism and protectionism mutually exclusive with neoliberalism?
  • To what extent do the shifts in economic policy challenge the structures of neoliberal accumulation?
  • What are the limits to financialisation in a non-neoliberal capitalism?
  • To what extent does the authoritarian turn indicate a capitalism beyond neoliberalism?

The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2026.

To submit a proposal (max 500 words), please use the “Submit proposal” button on the home page of IIPPE at https://iippe.org/, and carefully follow the instructions. Select the link at the bottom of the instructions to go to the WHOVA submission platform. On the submission form select the radio button for the “Neoliberalism and Contemporary Capitalism” working group to submit a proposal for our sessions. As usual, submissions may be made to this working group as (a) proposals for individual papers (which IIPPE will group into panels), and b) proposals for panels. To propose a panel, every individual paper must be submitted to the paper proposal system, and an email should be sent to the working group coordinators indicating the panel you want to propose, and what the papers will be in the panel.

For questions, please email one of the coordinators of our Working Group:

Alfredo Saad-Filho, Queen’s University Belfast (a.saadfilho@qub.ac.uk)
 Celal Özkızan, Northeastern University London (celal.ozkizan@nulondon.ac.uk)
 Devika Dutt, King’s College London (devika.dutt@kcl.ac.uk)
 Edemilson Parana (edemilson.parana@lut.fi)
 Lotta Takala-Greenish (lotta.takalagreenish@uwe.ac.uk)