05/04/2026
This year's conference will consist of a series of key lectures and interactive sessions organised around seven sub-themes. Each theme is designed to build a comprehensive view of the current international landscape and enable participants to critically engage with contemporary issues related to peace and order alongside these subthemes down below.
📜Historical Context and Legacies
Participants will explore the evolution of international relations in the UK and Japan, including post-war dynamics, colonial legacies, and the impact of the empire on present-day diplomacy and politics.
💹 International Political Economy
This session explores how both the UK and Japan intervened heavily in their economies, though in different ways, shaping responses to global economic challenges.
🌍 The Tragedy of the Commons
Using the framework of collective action problems, this theme addresses global-scale issues such as climate change, resource depletion, and security partnerships in a fractured international landscape.
🤝Diplomacy
This module will examine evolving diplomatic strategies and the role of state and non-state actors in negotiating peace under conditions of declining trust.
🛡️Defence
Participants will analyse security concerns and defense policies in the context of emerging threats, shifting alliances, and technological change.
🗣️ Soft Power
This session explores how countries wield influence through culture, language, and media, and questions whether soft power can maintain its effectiveness amid global instability.
🏛️ Democratic Backsliding
Focusing on recent trends in populism, authoritarianism, and institutional erosion, this theme examines how democratic norms are challenged within and beyond national borders.
The conference will culminate in interactive discussion and group policy making where participants propose solutions addressing the question: “How can we achieve the stability of the environment, peace, and economy in a world where the international order is under strain?”
