Call for Papers 14th PEPA/SIEL Conference "REIMAGINING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW: JUSTICE, SUSTAINABILITY AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCE"

 


Call for Papers

14th PEPA/SIEL Conference

of Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics of the Society of International Economic Law

REIMAGINING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW: JUSTICE, SUSTAINABILITY AND ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

Santiago, Chile 2026 University of Chile 1-3 December 2026

 

Abstract deadline

1 September 2026

Notification of results

15 September 2026

Draft papers due

10 November 2026

Conference

1-3 December 2026

Conference Co-chairs

Fabiola Wust Zibetti, University of Chile

Natália de Lima Figueiredo, Federal University of São Paulo Diana Maria Beltran Vargas, Externado University of Colombia

Introduction

The Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) holds an annual conference to connect its senior membership to its Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network (PEPA/SIEL). The PEPA/SIEL Conference constitutes a unique platform for early-career academics and professionals enrolled in advanced degrees or within five years of graduation, researching or working in the field of international economic law and related areas.

PEPA/SIEL fosters collaboration and mentoring opportunities for emerging academics and professionals, granting them the opportunity to present and discuss their research in a supportive and welcoming environment and to receive fruitful feedback from established experts in the field.

The PEPA/SIEL 2026 Conference will take place at the University of Chile, in Santiago, on 1-2 December 2026. The conference theme, Reimagining International Economic Law: Justice, Sustainability and Economic Resilience, invites early-career scholars and professionals to reflect on how international economic law can respond to a period marked by geopolitical fragmentation, climate emergency, technological transformation, persistent inequalities and renewed debates over development, economic sovereignty and resilience.

The conference seeks to create a forum for critical and constructive engagement with the future of international economic law. It asks how trade, investment, finance, taxation, technology and development regimes can be rethought in light of demands for justice, sustainability and economic resilience.


Conference themes and submission instructions

We invite submissions for papers from early-career academics and professionals focusing on the following themes. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the topics listed below:

1.  Global Shifts, Geoeconomics and Economic Security

·         International economic law in an age of geoeconomic fragmentation, great-power rivalry and geopolitical competition.

·         The repositioning of middle powers in changing global supply chains.

·         National security, economic security and their impacts on trade, investment, technology and data governance.

·         Strategic trade, economic sanctions, export controls, investment screening, trade restrictions and other coercive economic measures.

·         Extraterritorial regulatory measures and their effects on third countries, including sustainability, industrial policy and supply-chain regulations.

2.  Regionalism, Cooperation and Economic Governance

·         New pathways for regional economic integration.

·         The role and future of regional trade agreements, regional institutions and inter-regional cooperation in a fragmented world.

·         Regional approaches to trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, critical minerals, digital markets and sustainability.

·         South-South cooperation, technical cooperation and development-oriented economic governance.

·         The interaction between regional integration projects and multilateral economic institutions.

3.  International Trade, Investment and Dispute Settlement

·         The role of developing countries, emerging economies and middle powers in international trade and investment governance.

·         WTO reform, plurilateral negotiations and the future of multilateral trade rules.

·         Challenges to dispute settlement mechanisms, including investor-State dispute settlement and WTO dispute settlement.

·         Trade and investment rules for industrial policy, development, sustainability and economic resilience.

·         New-generation trade and investment agreements, including provisions on digital trade, services, environment, human rights, gender, labour and sustainability.

4.  Sustainability, Climate Transition, Natural Resources and Human Rights

·         International economic law responses to the climate crisis, including mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, climate finance and climate-related litigation.

·         Critical minerals, the energy transition, green industrial policy and sustainable development.

·         Trade and investment rules affecting natural resources, energy, agriculture, water, land and biodiversity.

·         Business and human rights, including due diligence, supply-chain governance, community rights, Indigenous peoples’ rights and access to remedies.

·         Sustainability standards in trade and investment and their impacts on development strategies, firms, workers and local communities.

5.  Digital Economy, Technology and Development

·         Digital trade governance and regulatory strategies in international economic law.

·         Data flows, privacy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and platform regulation.

·         Digital inclusion, e-commerce, digital public infrastructure and development.

·         Technology transfer, innovation policy and the regulation of emerging technologies.

·         Regional and global approaches to digital markets and digital sovereignty.

6.  Finance, Taxation, Debt and Industrial Policy

·         Global tax reform, fiscal sovereignty and revenue distribution.

·         Sovereign debt, development finance, infrastructure finance and climate finance.

·         Development banks, export credit agencies and other public financial institutions.


·         Industrial policy, subsidies, local content requirements and strategic sectors.

·         Financial governance, monetary transformations and the role of new public and private actors in international economic law.

7.  Justice, Theory and Methods in International Economic Law

·         Theories of justice, distribution and inequality in international economic law.

·         Feminist, decolonial, TWAIL, critical, sociolegal and political economy approaches.

·         Epistemic justice and underrepresented perspectives to international economic rulemaking.

·         Interdisciplinary, empirical and comparative approaches to international economic law.

·         Rethinking the foundations, actors and objectives of international economic law.

8.  Other Proposals Related to the Central Theme

·         The conference also welcomes proposals that engage with the central theme by offering new frameworks, critiques or institutional innovations for the future of international economic law. Papers addressing related topics not expressly listed above will also be considered, provided that they connect clearly with the broader themes of justice, sustainability and economic resilience.

Submission guidelines

Submissions must be sent by 1 September 2026 through the following form: https://forms.gle/T2EC4shQh37s2Xha7

Submissions may be co-authored, as long as all authors are early-career academics/professionals. Each submission must include:

·         An abstract of the paper of a maximum of 500 words, including the title of the paper, the paper’s main conclusions and arguments, and the relevant conference theme(s);

·         A mini-bio of the author(s) of a maximum of 150 words per author, including name, institutional affiliation and current degree or degree in progress;

·         An indication of whether the work is published, a working paper or unpublished;

·         An indication of whether the author(s) intend to submit the final paper for possible publication in a thematic book or journal special issue;

·         The availability of the author(s) to join the conference in person at the University of Chile.

The deadline for submissions is 1 September 2026. The outcome of the assessment of submissions will be communicated to authors by 15 September 2026. Accepted authors are requested to submit their draft papers, with around 8,000 words, ahead of the conference by 10 November 2026.

Submissions will be assessed on the basis of originality, scholarly quality, relevance to the conference theme and potential to contribute to discussion at the conference. To the extent possible, abstracts will be assessed through a blind-review process. Authors should therefore avoid including identifying information in the abstract itself when this is possible through the submission form.

We particularly welcome submissions from early-career academics and practitioners from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Small Island States, as well as from other underrepresented regions and communities.

Panels will be held in English and Spanish.

Key dates

 

Milestone

Date

Deadline for abstract submissions

1 September 2026

Notification of results

15 September 2026

Deadline for draft papers

10 November 2026

Conference at the University of Chile

1-2 December 2026


Participation, fees and funding

In the spirit of fostering exchange throughout the two-day conference, we encourage and favour in-person participation. No conference fee is required for selected participants.

Funding for travel and accommodation is extremely limited. Recognising the disproportionate impact of this element on scholars and academics based in developing and least-developed countries, the organisers may consider limited online spots for early-career academics and professionals who are unable to join due to financial limitations. Participants accepted for in-person participation are expected to join the conference in Santiago, Chile.

Selected participants will have the opportunity to present their research, discuss their work with peers and receive feedback from established scholars and practitioners in international economic law.

Possible publication opportunity

The organisers may explore the possibility of a thematic book project or journal special issue connected to the conference theme. Authors are therefore asked to indicate, at the time of submission, whether they would be interested in submitting their final paper for possible publication. Any such publication opportunity will be subject to a separate selection and review process.

Further information

For further questions or information, please contact the conference co-chairs at:

natalia.figueiredo@unifesp.br


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