Where is the APSA Annual Meeting taking place?

The APSA Annual Meeting will be held in Boston, United States.

What is the primary format of the event?

The event is described as an annual meeting, suggesting a comprehensive program of presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities for political science professionals.

Who is the target audience for this meeting?

The meeting is designed for scholars, practitioners, and students across various subfields of political science.

APSA Annual Meeting 2026

Name: APSA Annual Meeting 2026
Start: 2026-09-03T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-09-06T00:00:00Z
Location: Boston

Sep 3–6, 2026Boston, USAIn-person

Starts in 26 daysRegistration open

The APSA Annual Meeting is a significant gathering for political science professionals, bringing together scholars, practitioners, and students from diverse subfields. Hosted in Boston, United States, this event serves as a crucial platform for presenting research, engaging in discussions, and fostering collaborations within the discipline. The meeting's format encourages a broad exchange of ideas, reflecting the dynamic and multifaceted nature of political science today.

Committees & topics

Topics
Strengthening International Cooperation in Counter-Terrorism Efforts · Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation, and Arms Control · Promoting Sustainable Transport for the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda · Strengthening Global Supply Chains to Promote Food Security · Protecting the Freedom of Religion or Belief · Promoting the Rights of Women and Girls in the Aftermath of Conflict · Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work for All · Inclusive Rural and Agricultural Development

Why it matters

This annual meeting is a cornerstone event for the political science community, providing an opportunity for intellectual exchange and professional development. It allows participants to delve into current research trends, theoretical advancements, and methodological innovations across various political science domains. The discussions and presentations often highlight emerging global challenges and offer diverse perspectives on governance, international relations, and public policy.

The gathering's importance extends beyond academic discourse, as it frequently addresses pressing contemporary issues that have real-world implications. By facilitating dialogue among experts, the event contributes to a deeper understanding of political phenomena and can inform policy debates. The concentration of diverse viewpoints and specialized knowledge makes it a vital forum for shaping the future direction of political science research and its application.

How to prepare

To maximize the benefits of attending the APSA Annual Meeting, participants should engage in thorough preparation. For those presenting research, refining their arguments and anticipating questions from a diverse audience is crucial. Attendees interested in networking should review the program in advance to identify key sessions, panels, and individuals whose work aligns with their interests. This proactive approach can facilitate meaningful connections and potential collaborations.

Considering the event's location in Boston, United States, attendees might also reflect on the unique political and historical context of the host country as it relates to their research. Understanding the local and national political landscape can provide valuable context for discussions, particularly for those whose work touches upon comparative politics or American political development. Engaging with the broader environment can enrich the overall experience and provide additional layers of insight into the topics presented.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

United States

As the host nation, the United States provides the backdrop for discussions on its own political system, foreign policy, and comparative political studies.

Role in topic

The United States is central to many political science discussions, particularly those concerning democratic institutions, international relations, and public policy. Its role as a global actor and its internal political dynamics offer rich ground for academic inquiry and debate at the meeting.

China

Scholars often analyze China's evolving political system, economic influence, and its impact on global governance.

Role in topic

China's rise as a global power and its unique political model are frequent subjects of discussion, particularly in sessions on international political economy, authoritarianism, and comparative political systems. Its interactions with other nations and its internal governance challenges provide significant research opportunities.

Russia

Russia's geopolitical strategies, internal political developments, and its role in international conflicts are key areas of academic focus.

Role in topic

Russia is a critical subject for political scientists studying international security, post-Soviet politics, and the dynamics of great power competition. Discussions at the meeting often explore its foreign policy decisions, domestic political stability, and the implications for global order.

Germany

Germany's leadership within the European Union, its economic policies, and its approach to global challenges are often examined.

Role in topic

Germany's political and economic influence within Europe and on the global stage makes it a relevant country for discussions on European integration, multilateralism, and democratic governance. Its responses to migration, climate change, and economic crises are frequently analyzed.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

Strengthening International Cooperation in Counter-Terrorism Efforts

International counter-terrorism cooperation has been built incrementally since the 1960s through sectoral conventions on hijacking, hostage-taking, and terrorist financing, but it was the September 11, 2001 attacks that catalyzed a comprehensive UN architecture. Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) created the Counter-Terrorism Committee and imposed binding obligations on all states to criminalize terrorist financing, freeze assets, and deny safe haven. The 2006 UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, reviewed biennially by the General Assembly, added a four-pillar framework that balances security measures with addressing conditions conducive to terrorism and respect for human rights. The core dispute today is twofold. First, member states remain unable to agree on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, stalled for over two decades primarily over the definition of terrorism and whether it should exclude acts by national liberation movements or state armed forces. Second, there is growing concern that counter-terrorism cooperation, financial sanctions regimes, and FATF compliance demands are being instrumentalized to suppress civil society, journalists, and political opposition, particularly under broad domestic 'extremism' laws. Current priorities include responding to the resurgence of ISIL and al-Qaeda affiliates in the Sahel and Afghanistan, addressing online radicalization and the misuse of emerging technologies including AI-generated propaganda and cryptocurrency financing, managing the repatriation and prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters and their families from camps in northeast Syria, and ensuring that capacity-building assistance through UNOCT reaches vulnerable states without eroding human rights safeguards.

Key players

Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation, and Arms Control

The integration of gender perspectives into disarmament is a relatively recent normative development, rooted in Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security and progressively mainstreamed into arms control instruments. The 2013 Arms Trade Treaty became the first legally binding instrument to require states parties to assess the risk that exported conventional arms will be used to commit or facilitate gender-based violence (Article 7.4). Subsequent General Assembly First Committee resolutions, beginning with 65/69 (2010), have called for women's equal participation in disarmament decision-making and disaggregated data on the gendered impacts of weapons. The core issues are both substantive and representational. Substantively, small arms and light weapons, explosive remnants of war, and nuclear testing have demonstrably distinct impacts on women and girls — from conflict-related sexual violence facilitated by SALW availability, to intergenerational reproductive harms from radiation exposure documented in the Marshall Islands and Kazakhstan. Representationally, women remain underrepresented in disarmament diplomacy: UNIDIR data show women comprised roughly one-third of delegates to major disarmament forums in recent years, with significant variation across treaty bodies. Current debates center on operationalizing gender provisions in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Articles 6 and 7 on victim assistance), strengthening gender language in the Programme of Action on SALW, and ensuring meaningful inclusion in emerging negotiations on autonomous weapons and cyber norms. Some states resist what they characterize as the dilution of 'technical' disarmament work with social agendas, while others argue gender analysis is essential to effective policy.

Key players

Promoting Sustainable Transport for the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda

Transport is a cross-cutting enabler of the Sustainable Development Goals, directly relevant to SDGs 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 13, yet it is also responsible for approximately one-quarter of global energy-related CO2 emissions, with road transport dominant. The UN Secretary-General convened the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference in Ashgabat in 2016 and a second in Beijing in 2021, producing ministerial outcomes that linked transport policy to climate commitments, trade facilitation, and universal access. The 2023 SDG Summit Political Declaration explicitly identified transport gaps as a barrier to 2030 Agenda delivery. The central tensions involve financing, technology pathways, and equity. Developing countries — particularly Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States — face acute infrastructure deficits, with the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs identifying transit costs as a structural drag on trade competitiveness. Meanwhile, the decarbonization of shipping and aviation has advanced through the IMO's 2023 revised GHG strategy (targeting net-zero around 2050) and ICAO's CORSIA scheme, but both face disputes over differentiated responsibilities and the use of market-based measures. Current debates concern electric vehicle supply chains and critical mineral access, the rollout of safe and inclusive urban mobility under the New Urban Agenda, financing rural connectivity for agricultural market access, and ensuring that the transition to alternative fuels — green hydrogen, ammonia, sustainable aviation fuel — does not entrench new dependencies on advanced-economy producers.

Key players

Strengthening Global Supply Chains to Promote Food Security

The global food system entered a period of compounding shocks beginning with COVID-19 logistics disruptions in 2020, followed by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which together exposed the concentration of staple grain, fertilizer, and edible oil exports in a small number of producers and chokepoints. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Türkiye in July 2022, temporarily restored Ukrainian seaborne grain exports before Russia withdrew in July 2023. FAO and WFP have since reported that acute food insecurity affects more than 280 million people across roughly 60 countries, with conflict, climate shocks, and economic stress as the dominant drivers. The core disputes concern export restrictions, market concentration, and resilience financing. Over thirty countries imposed food or fertilizer export bans during 2022-2023, amplifying price volatility despite WTO disciplines exempting food security measures. A small number of firms dominate global trade in grains, seeds, and agricultural inputs, raising concerns about transparency and market power. Climate change, meanwhile, is straining traditional breadbaskets, with simultaneous harvest failures becoming more probable. Current policy debates focus on diversifying supply sources and building regional reserves (including AU and ASEAN initiatives), reforming AMIS (the Agricultural Market Information System) for better transparency, addressing fertilizer affordability for African producers, and integrating climate adaptation into trade and logistics planning. The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and its 2023 stocktaking moment provide the political framework, with the next stocktake informing 2026 negotiations.

Key players

Protecting the Freedom of Religion or Belief

Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is protected under Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR, and elaborated in the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. A UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB has reported since 1986, documenting state and non-state violations affecting religious majorities, minorities, converts, non-believers, and humanists. The mandate covers both the forum internum (the absolute right to hold beliefs) and the forum externum (manifestation, subject to narrow limitations). The contemporary landscape is marked by sharp polarization. Pew Research and USCIRF assessments find that a majority of the world's population lives in countries with high or very high restrictions on religion, whether through blasphemy and apostasy laws, restrictions on minority worship, surveillance of religious communities, or violent non-state persecution. Specific situations of concern include the treatment of Uyghur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists in China, Rohingya Muslims displaced from Myanmar, religious minorities in Afghanistan and Iran, Christians in parts of the Sahel and Middle East, and rising antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred globally including in democracies. The core diplomatic dispute is between two resolution tracks at the Human Rights Council: the FoRB resolution (traditionally led by the EU) emphasizing individual rights, and the 'combating religious intolerance' resolution (Resolution 16/18, led by the OIC) emphasizing protection against incitement to hatred. Tensions also persist over the relationship between FoRB and other rights, including gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and freedom of expression — particularly around blasphemy.

Key players

Promoting the Rights of Women and Girls in the Aftermath of Conflict

Post-conflict environments concentrate risks for women and girls — displacement, sexual and gender-based violence, loss of legal documentation, exclusion from peace processes, and disrupted access to education and health services. The Women, Peace and Security agenda, launched by Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 and expanded through nine subsequent resolutions, established commitments on participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery. CEDAW General Recommendation 30 (2013) clarified state obligations in conflict and post-conflict settings, and the Rome Statute codified conflict-related sexual violence as a war crime, crime against humanity, and potentially genocide. Despite this normative architecture, implementation remains deeply uneven. UN Women reporting shows women's participation in formal peace negotiations has stagnated at low levels, and over 80% of Track I processes still produce agreements without substantive gender provisions. Documented conflict-related sexual violence has risen sharply in recent reporting periods, with verified cases in Sudan, the DRC, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Israel/Palestine, and Haiti. Funding for gender-responsive humanitarian and recovery programming consistently falls short, and the rollback of women's rights under the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2021 — including bans on secondary education and most employment — has been characterized by UN experts as gender persecution. Key debates concern accountability mechanisms for CRSV (including ICC and hybrid tribunals), the integration of women into DDR and security sector reform, transitional justice including reparations, protection of women human rights defenders, and ensuring that post-conflict constitutions and electoral systems guarantee substantive participation rather than tokenistic quotas.

Key players

Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work for All

Decent work is enshrined as Sustainable Development Goal 8 and rooted in the ILO's 1999 Decent Work Agenda, which integrates employment creation, rights at work, social protection, and social dialogue. The 2019 ILO Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work, endorsed by the General Assembly, set out a human-centered approach addressing technological change, demographic shifts, climate transitions, and globalization. The COVID-19 pandemic erased the equivalent of more than 250 million full-time jobs at its peak and triggered the steepest decline in labor income in modern records, with recovery uneven across regions and disproportionately delayed for women, youth, and informal workers. Approximately 2 billion workers — roughly 58% of the global workforce — are in informal employment, concentrated in agriculture and services in low- and middle-income countries. Youth unemployment remains roughly three times adult rates, and the gender employment gap has barely narrowed in two decades. Emerging pressures include AI-driven automation and platform work reshaping labor markets, the just transition imperative as fossil-fuel-dependent economies decarbonize, and labor migration governance amid demographic divergence between aging and youthful societies. Current debates focus on extending social protection floors (only roughly half the world's population is covered by any social protection), regulating algorithmic management and platform work, financing job-rich green and care economy transitions, combating forced labor including in global supply chains (per ILO Convention 29 Protocol), and ensuring that trade and industrial policies — including critical mineral and semiconductor strategies — incorporate decent work standards.

Key players

Inclusive Rural and Agricultural Development

Roughly 3.4 billion people — about 43% of the global population — live in rural areas, and approximately 80% of the world's extreme poor reside there. Smallholder farmers produce a significant share of food consumed in developing regions yet face systematic disadvantages in land tenure, credit access, extension services, market integration, and climate resilience. The 2030 Agenda addresses rural development across SDGs 1, 2, 5, 6, 10, and 15, while the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028) and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure provide frameworks for policy coherence. The central challenges are structural. Rural-urban inequalities in income, services, and infrastructure persist or are widening in many regions. Women perform a large share of agricultural labor but own a much smaller share of agricultural land — FAO estimates women hold land titles to under 15% of agricultural holdings globally. Indigenous peoples and pastoralists face escalating pressures from large-scale land acquisitions, extractive projects, and conservation displacement. Climate change is reshaping productive zones, with the IPCC projecting significant yield declines for staple crops in tropical regions absent adaptation. Current debates address agroecology versus input-intensive intensification, the role of digital agriculture and precision tools for smallholders, financing rural infrastructure (roads, electrification, irrigation, cold chains, connectivity), securing land tenure for women and Indigenous communities, integrating rural producers into value chains without exploitative terms, and using cash transfers and rural social protection to break intergenerational poverty traps.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for APSA Annual Meeting 2026.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

India's 131st Amendment Bill

Supreme Court Upholds Election Commission Dis

Supreme Court's Voting Rights Impact on 2026

India's Women's Quota Bill Fails

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Conflict Resolution

Advanced Negotiation

Multilateral Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

USA September 2026

By committee

Frequently asked questions

APSA Annual Meeting 2026

Sep 3–6, 2026Boston, USAIn-person

Starts in 26 daysRegistration open

Committees & topics

Topics
Strengthening International Cooperation in Counter-Terrorism Efforts · Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation, and Arms Control · Promoting Sustainable Transport for the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda · Strengthening Global Supply Chains to Promote Food Security · Protecting the Freedom of Religion or Belief · Promoting the Rights of Women and Girls in the Aftermath of Conflict · Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work for All · Inclusive Rural and Agricultural Development

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

United States

As the host nation, the United States provides the backdrop for discussions on its own political system, foreign policy, and comparative political studies.

Role in topic

China

Scholars often analyze China's evolving political system, economic influence, and its impact on global governance.

Role in topic

Russia

Russia's geopolitical strategies, internal political developments, and its role in international conflicts are key areas of academic focus.

Role in topic

Germany

Germany's leadership within the European Union, its economic policies, and its approach to global challenges are often examined.

Role in topic