Conferences
7-9 October 2026
The 2nd Annual Interdisciplinary WZB Conference titled “Challenges to International Orders: Causes and Consequences” is scheduled for October 7-9, 2026!
The global order—understood as the set of institutions, norms, and power relations that structure interactions among states and across borders—is changing. Wars, tariff conflicts, exits from international organizations, and failure to reach new accords put long-standing norms and institutions under pressure, especially the liberal ones. Great Powers, but also less powerful states, increasingly act outside of international law. New alliances and rivalries are emerging. Many voices from the Global South demand a new order that ends what they consider domination by the West. What many once saw as a stable global order now appears fragmented, contested, and open to decline, without a new order emerging.
This 2nd Annual Interdisciplinary WZB Conference 2026 will bring together researchers from political science, sociology, economics, and law to examine how international orders are being challenged and reshaped—and what this means for states, societies, and global cooperation.
The conference will feature three inspiring keynotes by Charles A Kupchan (Georgetown University), Dani Rodrik (Harvard University), and Beth Simmons (University of Pennsylvania).
The call for papers will be issued in early spring. The conference will open with a festive public event welcoming a wide audience (more information to follow). The organizing committee includes Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, Steffen Huck, Yasemin Soysal and Michael Zürn.
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09-10 October 2025
1st-Annual Interdisciplinary WZB Conference: "The Future of Democracy"
The Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) hosted an interdisciplinary conference on the Future of Democracy in 08-10 October 2025, organized by Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, Daniel Ziblatt, and Michael Zürn. Attending keynote speakers were Chris Bail (Duke), Tim Besley (LSE) and Catherine de Vries (Bocconi). The scientific panel was accompanied by a panel with high-ranking representatives from politics and civil society, including Pratap Mehta, Princeton, and former US House Member and U.S. Representative Mr. Beto O'Rourke (Texas). The Second Annual WZB Conference on the Future of Democracy is expected to take place in October 2026 (7-9th).
