CALL FOR PAPERS

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WESTERN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
2026 ANNUAL MEETING
April 2-4, 2026
Pre-Conference Workshops, April 1
San Diego, California
Proposal Deadline: Friday, September 26, 2025

The 2026 annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association will be in San Diego, California, from April 2 to 4. Please make plans to attend and encourage others to join us!

The DEADLINE for submission of paper proposals/program participation forms will be Friday, September 26, 2025.

2026 WPSA Program Chair
Carrie Liu Currier
Texas Christian University
Email: c.currier@tcu.edu

Theme: Democracy in Crisis: Challenges, Responses and the Future of Governance

In 2026, we invite you to join us in San Diego, California, for the Western Political Science Association annual conference. With its perfect year-round weather, vibrant cultural scene, and rich history, San Diego provides an ideal location to gather and engage in critical discussions on some of the most pressing political challenges of our time.

Across the globe, democracy is facing unprecedented threats. The erosion of democratic norms, the rise of populism, deepening political polarization, and the resurgence of authoritarianism place democratic governance at a critical juncture. These crises raise important questions about the stability, resilience, and the future of democratic governance. At the same time, academia, long regarded as a pillar of democracy, is under attack. Institutions of higher education, traditionally places of open discourse, critical thinking, and the pursuit of truth, now find themselves at the center of ideological battles and political interference that threaten academic freedom and democratic values. As political scientists we must reaffirm our commitment to intellectual inquiry, resist undue political pressures, and actively contribute to public discourse to safeguard democracy.

The theme of this year’s conference, “Democracy in Crisis: Challenges, Responses, and the Future of Governance,” invites proposals that critically examine these issues both in the United States and abroad. How resilient are democratic institutions in the face of rising authoritarian tendencies globally? What impact do populism and nationalism have on political inclusion and representation? Can fact-based discourse thrive in an era of “alternative facts” and declining trust in institutions? How do global power struggles shape the future of democracy? How can we resist political pressures that threaten to erode our institutions? These questions are intended to spark meaningful debate on the challenges, responses and future of governance both domestically and globally. We encourage members to submit full panel proposals on Democracy in Crisis, or individual paper proposals that discuss these and other topics across a diverse range of sections and methodologies as we come together to address the crises facing democracies worldwide.

Submitting Your Proposal: For research paper, full panel, author-meets-critic, or roundtable proposals, please use the 2026 Request to Participate Form, including full contact information for all prospective authors and other participants. Please also indicate whether you are willing to serve as chair or discussant for your panel, or for another. Your proposal will be forwarded to the appropriate program section chair for review and placement. For special submissions including proposals for mini-conferences, virtual community meetings, or other events, please contact Program Chair Carrie Liu Currier c.currier@tcu.edu or Executive Director Richard Clucas hprc@pdx.edu for instructions.

We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

2026 WPSA Program Chair

Prof. Carrie Liu Currier

Note: The DEADLINE for all proposals/program participation forms will be Friday, September 26, 2025. All participants in the 2026 program will be required to pre-register for the conference no later than December 31, 2026.

A description of all the 2026 Sections can be found here.

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