CALL FOR ABSTRACTS | 2024 PPSA International Scientific Conference

We are pleased to invite you to the 2024 PPSA International Scientific Conference which will be held in-person in Iligan City, Mindanao on 2-4 May 2024.

Conference Theme: Reimagining Margins, Reclaiming Borders

With the recent developments in domestic and international politics, the issues of margins and borders again come to the fore. Margins and borders are broadly understood in either spatial or discursive terms. The current material and ideational aspects of understanding politics present certain limitations and thus implore political scientists, social science scholars, practitioners, and other interested parties to re-examine these concepts and ideas.

Why reimagine margins? Relegated in the margins are the peasantry, indigenous people, marginalised genders, religious minorities, and people of different ethnicities, among others. Their issues endure and have morphed together with social developments and technological advancements. Within the country, discussions on self-determination and rule do not end with forming the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). As the 2025 parliamentary election nears, the quest of the Bangsamoro people for a genuine voice, within and beyond their existing physical spaces, continues. Urban and rural communities grapple with poverty and joblessness amidst rising inflation rates. Marginalised genders face discrimination and persecution from certain sectors of society. Outside the Philippines, diasporic communities of Filipinos struggle to find their place in the new communities abroad. The notion of margins may need reimagining to bring power back to these marginalised peoples.

Why reclaim borders? Cases such as the Chinese aggressions in the West Philippine Sea, the continued invasion of Ukraine, and, more recently, the escalation of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict remain challenging the established notions of national and territorial borders. Domestically, local delineations such as those in the National Capital Region are contested in courts. At the same time, new demarcations are created through legislation to promote harmony in a growing and diverse society. The recent pandemic, through the invisible virus, demonstrated that such constructions of borders are permeable. In the cyber sphere, there are practically no borders to speak of. Social media became the space for conversations (and as sites of disinformation and digital violence) that surpass border controls, despite attempts by states to control its use. All of these have, in one way or another, had a direct impact on people’s lives.Focusing on reimagining margins and reclaiming borders invites scholars and practitioners to question the existing conceptualisations and understanding in Philippine politics, political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and research methodology. It offers a wide array of possibilities for scientific inquiry and thoughtful interrogation.

The 2024 International Conference of PPSA hopes to bring together papers and presentations that seek to reimagine our understanding of margins and give attention to the debates on reclaiming borders.

Conference Sub-themes

Among the sub-themes that the conference panels could address are the following:

• Claims and Counterclaims of Borders
• Delineating Territories and Boundaries
• Demarginalising the Marginalised
• Ethnicity, Race, and Diasporic Communities
• Everyday Politics and Resistance
• Human Rights and the Right to Protect
• Local, Regional, and National Borders
• Marginalised Genders and Politics
• Maritime Issues and International Law
• Media and the Politics of Disinformation
• Politics of Artificial Intelligence
• Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion
• Politics of the Margins
• Public and Private Spheres and the Political
• Reimagining Marginalised Identities
• Religion, Culture, and Marginalisation
• Silenced Identities and the Margins
• The Internet: Politics Beyond Borders
• Towards a Borderless Community
• Transborder Conflicts and Violence
• Urban-Rural Interface and the Margins•
• Voices of Peasantry in the Margins
• Violence in the Digital SpaceI

In addition to the above research panels, the conference also allows for pedagogical panels that can include the following:

• Comparative Politics and Area Studies
• Regional Situations (Northeast, Southeast, West, South, and Central Asia Perspectives)
• Perspectives on Advocacy Movements
• The Study of Political Science as a Discipline
• Research Methodologies in Political Science
• Ethics and Politics

About the PPSA

The Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) continues to observe more than 60 years of path-breaking contributions to the promotion of the study of politics through the professional development of its members and academic advances made in teaching, research, and public service. The PPSA, through its activities in general and its annual conferences in particular, has continuously and critically engaged fellow academics, policymakers, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and social movement players, as well as public intellectuals on topics touching on day-to-day political realities at the local, regional, and international arenas. A key strength of the PPSA is that it is multidisciplinary in its approaches as well as in its engagements.

Thus, its members do not only include political scientists but also scholars from other social science disciplines. As with the previous PPSA conferences, the 2024 International Conference foresees the participation of around 150 academics, researchers, and public intellectuals, as well as well-known policy and opinion makers and social movement and civil society players on 2-4 May 2024 in Iligan City.

Panel and Paper Submissions

Those interested in presenting papers or convening panels may submit their proposals through this Google Form: [https://forms.gle/n3QjwAM82GwsrRWH9]

Paper abstracts should consist of a maximum of 250 words and include research question(s) and research method(s). Panel proposals should also contain a panel description of not more than 250 words, aside from the individual abstracts of the papers included in the panel. Proposals will be peer-reviewed.

Deadlines and Dates to Remember

• Deadline for Submission of Abstracts: 31 January 2024
• Release of Acceptance Notices: 28 February 2024
• Confirmation of Participation and Registration of Presenters: 15 March 2024
• Release of Book of Abstracts: 15 April 2024
• Deadline of Payment for Participants: 15 April 2024

Eligibility

Scholars, activists, practitioners, public servants, and public intellectuals from the Philippines, Asia, and other regions are encouraged to participate in the conference.

Conference Fees

All participants, including paper presenters and role players, are required to pay the membership fee of PhP 3,000.00 and conference fee of PhP 3,000.00. Discounted rates are available for graduate and undergraduate students upon presentation of proof of enrolment and identification. Nominated individuals by institutional members also enjoy a discounted rate.

Membership fees

For all paper presenters and role players (includes graduate students): PhP 3,000.00

Registration fees

• Paper presenters and participants: PhP 3,000.00
• Graduate students and institutional members: PhP 2,500.00
• Undergraduate students: PhP 1,500.00

Further Inquiries

For inquiries, please contact:

The Secretariat

Philippine Political Science Association

E-mail: philpolsci@gmail.com