Multilevel Governance in the 21^st Century

The 2018 Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) International Conference

April 5-6, 2018

Davao City, Philippines

Background

The world is in a state of flux. From Catalonia’s independence referendum, Scotland’s failed bid and Brexit, the nation in Europe has become resurgent. Largely in reaction to perceived shortcomings of EU as a regional platform in addressing questions of migration and bailouts, Europeans are delivering their votes to rightist political parties articulating inwardness and identity-based agendas. With EU faltering, ASEAN at 50, meanwhile, hobbles over the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, showing little institutional maturity. In the Philippines, the war on drugs, the campaign against IS militants in the South, and the future of the Bangsamoro, serve as backdrops for the pursuit of Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promise to establish a Federal Republic of the Philippines.                       

Amidst these tumultuous times, governments face the dual challenge of maintaining their political legitimacy and territorial integrity. Multilevel governance has emerged out of the need to manage the ongoing process of integration and disintegration within and beyond national borders. It involves a range of institutional means of reconfiguring territorial structures to balance power and enable change. These include integration of states, regionalization, decentralization, and federalism.

Conference Objectives

The PPSA 2018 conference seeks papers that examine the vulnerabilities and stresses of current governance platforms at the political group, sub-state, state and inter-state and supra-state levels, in the face of reconfigured political interface afforded by modern technology. It also seeks papers that explore new and alternative governance platforms beyond the usual prisms of power, authority and legitimacy  (including those emerging from economics such as sharing, networks, etc.). The papers should address the following questions: (1) what is the state of current platforms of governance in terms of their operation and functionality? are they tending towards democratic or undemocratic types of governance?; (2) what are the mechanisms and processes generating these trends?; (3) what outcomes, symbolic or substantive, are generated by these platforms? do they in fact lead to betterment of lives of those governed?

Conference Themes

This is an open call for individual papers and panels. The topics may cover but are not limited to the following:

·         The Challenges and Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance

·         Regional Integration: EU and ASEAN

·         Multilateral Governance: UN, WTO, WHO, ADB, AIIB, and other regional formations)

·         Sustainable Development Goals

·         Governance of Formal Institutions: Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, Security Forces, and Bureaucracy)

·         Resurgence of Nationalism and the Wave of Populism

·         Autonomy and the Right to Self-determination

·         Decentralization, Devolution, and Local Governance

·         Federalism and Constitutional Reform

·         Mindanao and the Bangsamoro

·         Challenges to Democracy and the Threat of Authoritarianism

·         Electoral and Party Politics

·         Elite Politics: Clans and Political Dynasties

·         Security Challenges: Insurgents and Terrorism

·         The Politics of Human Rights

·         Participatory Planning and Budgeting

·         Education and Democratic Citizenship

·         Conflict Mediation and the Peace Process

·         The South China Sea Disputes

·         Gender, Politics, and Development

·         Migration Issues and the Refugee Crisis

·         Environmental Governance, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Reduction Management

·         Crime, Corruption, and Accountability Deficits

·         Peace and Human Security

·         Methodology Panel: Researching on Multilevel Governance

·         Pedagogical Panel: Teaching Multilevel Governance

·         Other Related Topics

Paper looking into theoretical and philosophical currents on governance are also welcome. 

Paper Submission

Those interested in presenting papers or convening panels may email their abstracts to ppsaconference2018@gmail.com.

For individual or panel presentations, kindly submit your abstracts (maximum of 500 words) containing the research problem to be addressed and its added value to the existing literature. Panel proposals should also contain a panel description of not more than 500 words, aside from the individual abstracts of the papers included in the panel, and the name of the Panel Chair.  The full name, institutional affiliation and email addresses of presenters should be indicated. Proposals will be peer reviewed. 

No undergraduate paper or panel proposals will be accepted.  

Deadline for abstract proposals: January 31, 2018.  The notification for acceptance of panel and paper proposals will be made on February 28, 2018.

Conference Fees

All participants including paper presenters are required to pay the conference fee of PHP 3,500.00.  

Payments could be in cash, check, or bank deposit. For bank payment deposit, kindly make the transaction to the Philippine Political Science Association, Banco de Oro, Current Account No. 8658002864. Please email the scanned deposit slip to Kevin Nielsen Agojo, PPSA Research Assistant, at secretariat.ppsa@gmail.com.