Call for Papers
Call for Papers
We invite you to join us for the Nineteenth Global Studies Conference, the annual meeting of the Global Studies Research Network, taking place 15–17 July 2026 in Galway, Ireland and online, in partnership with our host institution, the University of Galway. This year, the conference is held alongside the annual meeting of the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Research Network, reflecting shared commitments to understanding globalization, social transformation, and emerging global interdependencies. The Network brings together researchers, practitioners, policy thinkers, educators, cultural workers, and community leaders who seek to understand global processes in all their complexity.
In 2026, our special focus “Bridging Boundaries: Collaborative Solutions to Complex Social Issues in an Interconnected World” explores how cooperation across disciplinary, regional, and sectoral divides can generate more effective responses to today’s pressing global challenges. Many of the most urgent transformations we face—rising inequality, climate instability, geopolitical fragmentation, digital acceleration, and shifting labour markets—cut across national borders and intellectual traditions. This conference invites contributions that consider how global research, policy innovation, and collaborative practice can respond to these multidimensional pressures.
We welcome papers examining methodological innovations, globally networked research partnerships, cross-border social movements, local issues understood in global perspective, and interdisciplinary approaches to analyzing contemporary global transformations.
Alongside the Special Focus, we welcome submissions addressing the Network’s annual themes: Networks of Economy and Trade; The Power of Institutions; Vectors of Society and Culture; and Ecological Foundations.
Knowledge Experience and Format
The conference is organised as a hybrid knowledge experience, integrating in-person and online participation in one shared scholarly environment. All accepted proposals become Presentation Pages on CGScholar Event (KX), where presenters upload abstracts, media, and reflections and where delegates engage in discussion before, during, and after the event.
In-person presentations, live online sessions, and asynchronous contributions are interwoven into a single integrated program. Across all formats, the emphasis is on human-scale scholarly exchange—conversation, reflection, and collaborative inquiry rather than one-way presentation.
Publication Pathways
Presenters are invited to develop their work for possible publication in the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, or in the Global Studies Book Imprint, which publishes monographs and edited volumes on global transformations. Both outlets offer options for traditional and Open Access publication.
Membership and Community
We welcome new and returning members to the Global Studies Research Network. By purchasing a Presenter Pass, you automatically become—or renew as—a Network Member for the year. Membership places you inside our online Knowledge Experience, a shared space connecting preparation, presentation, reflection, and publication. Members access conference archives, media, journals, books, and calls for papers, and contribute their own work through peer-facilitated community review.
Alongside the online environment, membership also supports in-person gatherings, where delegates form collaborations across regions, disciplines, and sectors. Membership sustains the Network and ensures ongoing access to its journals, books, programs, and archives—maintaining a vibrant, contributor-led community.
Join Us
We warmly invite you to submit a proposal and to join us—either in Galway or online—for the Nineteenth Global Studies Conference. Together, we will explore how interdisciplinary, transnational, and collaborative approaches can illuminate the complex dynamics of globalization and help shape more equitable, resilient, and interconnected futures.
The 2026 conference is convened by:
Prof. Rafal Soborski (Research Network Chair, Global Studies),
the Local Conference Committee at the University of Galway,
and, in recognition of the joint gathering, the Chairs of the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Research Network:
Dr. Marcin Galent and Dr. Cristina Castillo Rodríguez.