Where will the ICON-IR 2026 conference be held?

The ICON-IR 2026 conference will be held in the city of Bandung, IDN.

What is the format of the ICON-IR 2026 conference?

The ICON-IR 2026 is an international conference, indicating a format that includes presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities for participants.

What is the primary focus of the ICON-IR 2026 conference?

The conference focuses on international relations, providing a platform for scholars and practitioners to discuss contemporary issues in the field.

International Conference on International Relations (ICON-IR) 2026

Name: International Conference on International Relations (ICON-IR) 2026
Start: 2026-08-20T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-08-21T00:00:00Z
Location: Bandung

Aug 20–21, 2026Bandung, IndonesiaIn-person

Starts in 12 daysRegistration open

The International Conference on International Relations (ICON-IR) 2026 is an academic gathering held in Bandung, Indonesia. This event serves as a platform for scholars, researchers, and practitioners to present and discuss contemporary issues and advancements within the field of international relations. The conference aims to foster intellectual exchange and collaboration among participants from diverse backgrounds. Hosted in a significant regional hub, ICON-IR 2026 provides an opportunity to explore global dynamics from a unique perspective, reflecting the growing importance of non-Western viewpoints in international discourse. The conference structure is designed to facilitate in-depth discussions and networking, contributing to the broader understanding of complex global challenges.

Committees & topics

Topics
International Political Economy in a Fragmenting Order · The Climate Crisis and the Politics of the Energy Transition · Soft Power, Media, and the Global Pop Culture Contest · Indonesia's Foreign Policy in an Indo-Pacific Crosswind · War and Peace: Armed Conflict in a Multipolar Era · Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion in Global Policy · Global South Challenges and the Demand for a Reformed Order · Great Power Politics and the Return of Strategic Competition

Why it matters

The ICON-IR 2026 is significant because it convenes experts in a region that is increasingly central to global affairs. By focusing on international relations from this vantage point, the conference offers a crucial counterpoint to perspectives often dominated by Western institutions. This allows for a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of global political, economic, and social trends.

Such conferences are vital for the continuous evolution of international relations as a discipline. They enable the sharing of new research, methodologies, and theoretical frameworks, which are essential for addressing pressing global issues. The discussions and papers presented at ICON-IR 2026 can influence policy debates, inform academic curricula, and inspire future research directions, thereby shaping how we analyze and respond to international challenges.

Furthermore, the gathering of diverse international participants in Bandung, IDN, inherently promotes cross-cultural dialogue and understanding. This direct engagement is invaluable for building networks and fostering collaborative initiatives that transcend national borders. The insights generated from such interactions are critical for developing effective Engagement Strategies and navigating the complexities of a multipolar world.

How to prepare

For delegates attending ICON-IR 2026, a thorough understanding of the geopolitical landscape of Southeast Asia and its interconnectedness with global power dynamics is essential. Participants should consider how regional issues, such as maritime disputes, economic integration, and environmental challenges, intersect with broader international relations theories. Preparing case studies or research proposals that bridge these regional and global concerns will be particularly impactful.

Engaging with the diverse perspectives likely to be present at the conference requires an open mind and a readiness to challenge conventional thinking. Attendees should familiarize themselves with different theoretical approaches to international relations, including those that originate from or are particularly relevant to the Global South. This preparation will facilitate more productive discussions and a deeper appreciation of the various Hidden Stakeholders and their influence.

Consider preparing to discuss how different countries in the region, including IDN, perceive and respond to major global powers and international institutions. Understanding the historical context and contemporary foreign policy objectives of key regional actors will enhance one's ability to contribute meaningfully to debates. This level of preparation will allow for a more informed participation in sessions, fostering richer intellectual exchange and networking opportunities.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 5 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Indonesia

As the host nation, IDN will likely emphasize its non-aligned foreign policy, regional stability, and its role in ASEAN, advocating for multilateralism and economic cooperation.

Role in topic

IDN plays a crucial role as a major Southeast Asian power and the host of the conference, providing a platform for discussions on international relations from an Asian perspective. Its foreign policy often balances relations with major global powers while prioritizing regional stability and economic development.

United States

The USA will likely focus on its strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, promoting democratic values, and addressing security challenges, potentially highlighting its alliances and partnerships.

Role in topic

The USA's involvement in the Indo-Pacific region, including its security alliances and economic partnerships, significantly influences international relations discussions, particularly concerning regional stability and global power dynamics. Its perspective often centers on maintaining a rules-based international order.

China

CHN will likely articulate its vision for a multipolar world, emphasizing economic cooperation through initiatives like the Belt and Road, and defending its sovereignty and national interests.

Role in topic

CHN's growing economic and political influence in Asia and globally makes its perspective critical. Discussions will likely touch upon its foreign policy, regional initiatives, and its evolving relationship with other major powers, offering insights into its strategic objectives.

Australia

AUS will likely focus on regional security, economic partnerships, and climate change, given its geographical proximity and strong ties to both Asian and Western nations.

Role in topic

As a key player in the Indo-Pacific, AUS's perspective is vital for understanding regional security architectures and economic integration. Its foreign policy often navigates between its traditional alliances and its growing engagement with Asian economies.

Japan

JPN will likely highlight its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, promoting economic diplomacy, and addressing global challenges such as climate change and nuclear non-proliferation.

Role in topic

JPN's economic power and strategic alliances make it an important voice in international relations. Its focus on multilateralism, technological cooperation, and regional security contributes significantly to discussions on global governance and stability.

Topics & background

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

International Political Economy in a Fragmenting Order

The post-1945 liberal economic order, built around the Bretton Woods institutions, the GATT/WTO system, and the dollar as global reserve currency, delivered decades of expanding trade and capital flows. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the consensus around open markets has eroded. The US-China trade war launched in 2018, the COVID-19 supply-chain shock, and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine accelerated a turn toward industrial policy, friend-shoring, and weaponized interdependence through sanctions and export controls on semiconductors and critical minerals. The core dispute today is whether globalization is being rewired or rolled back. The United States, under successive administrations, has used the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and tariff escalations to reshore strategic industries, while China has doubled down on its Made in China 2025 and dual-circulation strategies. The European Union is pursuing 'open strategic autonomy,' and emerging economies in the BRICS+ bloc are experimenting with local-currency settlement and alternative payment rails to reduce dollar dependence. Meanwhile, sovereign debt distress in dozens of low-income countries, stalled WTO dispute settlement, and contested IMF and World Bank governance reform define the immediate agenda.

Key players

The Climate Crisis and the Politics of the Energy Transition

Since the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, multilateral climate diplomacy has moved from binding North-only targets under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the universal but voluntary architecture of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which set a 1.5°C aspirational ceiling. The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (2021-2023) concluded that the world is on track to overshoot 1.5°C in the early 2030s without immediate and deep emissions cuts. COP28 in Dubai (2023) produced the first explicit call to 'transition away from fossil fuels,' and COP29 in Baku (2024) agreed a new collective quantified goal of at least USD 300 billion annually in climate finance for developing countries by 2035 — a figure widely criticized as inadequate. The central disputes concern responsibility, finance, and pace. Developing countries invoke common but differentiated responsibilities and demand grant-based finance, loss-and-damage compensation, and technology transfer. Major fossil-fuel producers resist firm phase-out timelines, while small island states and least-developed countries warn of existential risk. Layered on top are disputes over carbon border adjustment mechanisms, critical-mineral supply chains for clean energy, and the credibility of net-zero pledges as several major economies roll back climate commitments.

Key players

Soft Power, Media, and the Global Pop Culture Contest

Joseph Nye's concept of soft power — the ability to shape preferences through attraction rather than coercion — has become a central instrument of statecraft. The 20th-century dominance of Hollywood, the BBC, and Anglophone universities is now contested by the global rise of Korean cultural exports (the 'Korean Wave' or Hallyu), Japanese anime and gaming, Indian cinema and diaspora networks, Chinese platforms such as TikTok and state media outlets like CGTN, and Gulf-funded sports and entertainment investments. Streaming, short-video platforms, and algorithmic curation have collapsed traditional gatekeeping and allowed mid-sized states to project culture globally. The core dispute is whether this pluralization of cultural power is a healthy diversification or a new arena of information competition. Western governments have moved to restrict or force divestment of Chinese-owned platforms over data and influence concerns, while authoritarian states use content moderation, visa policy, and disinformation campaigns to shape narratives abroad. UNESCO's 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and ongoing debates at the ITU and the Global Digital Compact frame the multilateral conversation, but enforcement and definitions of 'foreign interference' remain deeply contested.

Key players

Indonesia's Foreign Policy in an Indo-Pacific Crosswind

Indonesia's foreign policy doctrine, articulated by Vice President Mohammad Hatta in 1948 as 'bebas-aktif' (independent and active), has guided Jakarta through non-alignment in the Cold War, leadership of the 1955 Bandung Conference, and the founding of ASEAN in 1967. As the world's fourth most populous country, largest Muslim-majority democracy, and a G20 member, Indonesia under Presidents Yudhoyono, Joko Widodo, and now Prabowo Subianto (inaugurated October 2024) has projected itself as a middle power and bridge-builder. It chaired the G20 in 2022 and ASEAN in 2023, joined the BRICS grouping as a full member in January 2025, and is pursuing OECD accession in parallel. The central foreign-policy challenges are managing the US-China rivalry in maritime Southeast Asia — particularly Chinese incursions around the Natuna Islands within Indonesia's EEZ — defending ASEAN centrality amid a paralyzed response to the Myanmar crisis, balancing nickel-driven industrial diplomacy with Western partners, and navigating Middle East policy in light of strong domestic solidarity with Palestine. Prabowo's administration has signaled greater defense outreach and a 'good neighbor to all' posture, but observers debate whether this represents continuity with bebas-aktif or a sharper tilt.

Key players

War and Peace: Armed Conflict in a Multipolar Era

The number of active armed conflicts has reached its highest level since the end of World War II, according to PRIO and Uppsala Conflict Data Program tracking. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shattered the post-Cold War European security order, triggered the largest refugee crisis in Europe since 1945, and revived debates over nuclear deterrence, NATO enlargement (Finland 2023, Sweden 2024), and the future of conventional arms control following the collapse of the INF and New START frameworks. In the Middle East, the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza, alongside escalation with Hezbollah, the Houthis, and direct exchanges with Iran in 2024, have produced a humanitarian catastrophe and ICJ and ICC proceedings. Further theaters — Sudan's civil war between the SAF and RSF, the Sahel coup belt and jihadist insurgencies, Myanmar's post-coup conflict, and recurrent flare-ups around Taiwan and the South China Sea — illustrate the strain on UN Security Council peace-and-security machinery, which is paralyzed by P5 vetoes. The core dispute is how to revive credible mediation, enforce international humanitarian law, regulate emerging military technologies (autonomous weapons, cyber, drones), and reform a Council widely seen as unfit for current realities.

Key players

Global South Challenges and the Demand for a Reformed Order

The 'Global South' as a political identity traces back to the 1955 Bandung Conference, the Non-Aligned Movement (1961), and the G77 (1964), all of which pressed for a New International Economic Order in the 1970s. After a quiet post-Cold War period, the term has resurged since around 2022, as developing countries refused to align fully with Western sanctions on Russia and demanded credible action on debt, climate finance, vaccine equity (a major grievance from COVID-19), and reform of the IMF, World Bank, and UN Security Council. The expansion of BRICS in 2024-2025 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE, and Indonesia, alongside India's G20 presidency push for African Union membership (granted in 2023), illustrates this assertiveness. The core challenge is whether the Global South can translate diplomatic weight into structural reform. Key disputes include the inadequacy of the COP29 climate finance goal, the slow pace of the G20 Common Framework for debt restructuring (with Zambia, Ghana, Sri Lanka, and others as test cases), uneven access to AI and digital infrastructure, and the perception of Western 'double standards' between Ukraine and Gaza. The bloc is not monolithic: divergences between China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and smaller LDCs and SIDS often complicate common positions.

Key players

Great Power Politics and the Return of Strategic Competition

The post-Cold War 'unipolar moment' of American primacy has given way to what US strategy documents and Chinese, Russian, and European counterparts alike describe as an era of strategic competition. China's 2012 Belt and Road Initiative, its military modernization and assertiveness in the South and East China Seas and around Taiwan, Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the deepening 'no limits' partnership announced by Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in February 2022 have crystallized a contest between a US-led network of allies (NATO, AUKUS, the Quad, US-Japan-Korea trilateral) and a loose Sino-Russian-led coalition that increasingly includes Iran and North Korea. The core dispute concerns the rules of the international order itself: territorial integrity, freedom of navigation, technology and trade governance, nuclear stability after the lapse of major arms control treaties, and the role of multilateral institutions. Middle powers — India, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa — increasingly practice 'multi-alignment,' hedging between camps. Flashpoints include Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, the Arctic, and outer space and cyberspace as new domains of competition.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for International Conference on International Relations (ICON-IR) 2026.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

West Bengal Voter Deletion Crisis 2026

Rahul Gandhi Defends Tamil Nadu's Autonomy

India's 131st Amendment Bill

West Bengal Voter Deletion Crisis

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Gender Dynamics Across Cultures

The Power-Interest Grid

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Policy Brief Writing

Media & Press Relations

Cross-Cultural Communication

Advanced Negotiation

Indonesia August 2026

By committee

Frequently asked questions

International Conference on International Relations (ICON-IR) 2026

Aug 20–21, 2026Bandung, IndonesiaIn-person

Starts in 12 daysRegistration open

Committees & topics

Topics
International Political Economy in a Fragmenting Order · The Climate Crisis and the Politics of the Energy Transition · Soft Power, Media, and the Global Pop Culture Contest · Indonesia's Foreign Policy in an Indo-Pacific Crosswind · War and Peace: Armed Conflict in a Multipolar Era · Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion in Global Policy · Global South Challenges and the Demand for a Reformed Order · Great Power Politics and the Return of Strategic Competition

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 5 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Indonesia

As the host nation, IDN will likely emphasize its non-aligned foreign policy, regional stability, and its role in ASEAN, advocating for multilateralism and economic cooperation.

Role in topic

United States

The USA will likely focus on its strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, promoting democratic values, and addressing security challenges, potentially highlighting its alliances and partnerships.

Role in topic

China

CHN will likely articulate its vision for a multipolar world, emphasizing economic cooperation through initiatives like the Belt and Road, and defending its sovereignty and national interests.

Role in topic

Australia

AUS will likely focus on regional security, economic partnerships, and climate change, given its geographical proximity and strong ties to both Asian and Western nations.

Role in topic

Japan

JPN will likely highlight its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, promoting economic diplomacy, and addressing global challenges such as climate change and nuclear non-proliferation.

Role in topic

Topics & background

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

International Political Economy in a Fragmenting Order

Key players

The Climate Crisis and the Politics of the Energy Transition

Key players

Soft Power, Media, and the Global Pop Culture Contest

Key players

Indonesia's Foreign Policy in an Indo-Pacific Crosswind

Key players

War and Peace: Armed Conflict in a Multipolar Era

Key players

Global South Challenges and the Demand for a Reformed Order

Key players

Great Power Politics and the Return of Strategic Competition

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for International Conference on International Relations (ICON-IR) 2026.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

West Bengal Voter Deletion Crisis 2026

Rahul Gandhi Defends Tamil Nadu's Autonomy

India's 131st Amendment Bill

West Bengal Voter Deletion Crisis

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Gender Dynamics Across Cultures

The Power-Interest Grid

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Policy Brief Writing

Media & Press Relations

Cross-Cultural Communication

Advanced Negotiation

Indonesia August 2026

By committee

Committees & topics

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Topics & background

Resources

Related conferences

The 4th Journal of Central Banking Law and Institutions International Conference (JCLI2026)

6th International Conference on Governance, Public Administration, and Social Science (ICoGPASS 2026)

ISRM Indonesia Conference 2026

FPCI Public Discussion: Mid-Year Geopolitical and Economic Outlook 2026

IFAR Consortium Annual Conference 2026

Young Public Diplomacy Summit 2026 Indonesia

Frequently asked questions

Committees & topics

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Topics & background

Resources

Related conferences

The 4th Journal of Central Banking Law and Institutions International Conference (JCLI2026)

6th International Conference on Governance, Public Administration, and Social Science (ICoGPASS 2026)

ISRM Indonesia Conference 2026

FPCI Public Discussion: Mid-Year Geopolitical and Economic Outlook 2026

IFAR Consortium Annual Conference 2026

Young Public Diplomacy Summit 2026 Indonesia

Frequently asked questions