Concerned Philosophers for Peace

Call for Papers

Concerned Philosophers for Peace 39th Annual Conference

 (October 16-17, 2026, the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN)

War and the Environment

Keynote: Mark Woods

Chair and Professor of Philosophy, University of San Diego

Author of Rethinking Wilderness (2017)

“Green Just War Theory? No: Ecologically Liable Contingent Pacifism and Sustainable Peace.”

Concerned Philosophers for Peace (CPP) seeks to investigate and promote peaceful, nonviolent transitions in all arenas of common life. This year’s conference will focus primarily on the impacts of war on the environment, the consequences of these impacts on prospects for a lasting and just peace, and the potential for fruitful collaboration between environmentalists and peace advocates. We especially encourage papers which examine moral, political and social questions about environmental aspects of conflict and peace, but also welcome work on any topic related to peace and nonviolence. Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

•       Effects of conflict, and preparations for conflict on the environment

•       Long-term-ism: advocacy for permanent peace and environmental sustainability

•       New/emerging technologies for war and their effects on the environment.

•       Environmental activism and peace advocacy – shared or divergent strategies.

•       Rights to a clean environment and the UN mission of attaining a secure, just peace.

•       Climate change, population flows and threats to peace

•       Conflict, human displacement and threats to the environment

•       Environmentalism in transitional justice, peace settlements, and negotiations.

•       Enduring costs of conflict on the environment (WWII bunkers, minefields, agent orange…).

•       Alliances between pacifists and environmentalists

•       The idea of a “War on the Environment”

•       Intersectionality of gender and environmental aspects of conflict and peace processes

•       The Environmental Modification Convention and its weak enforcement.

•       Ecocide as a new/emergent crime against humanity

              Please submit abstracts of no more than 500 words for papers either related to the conference theme or to the overall mission of Concerned Philosophers for Peace. CPP welcomes submissions from undergraduates, graduate students, professional academics, independent scholars, and anyone willing to present persuasive sound argumentative positions in line with our theme and ethos. We also welcome submissions from a range of fields including philosophy, law, public policy, business, history, religious studies, political science, social science, or related fields. Submissions from teachers, researchers, or practitioners are also welcome, particularly insofar as those presentations could complement the theme of the conference.

              Concerned Philosophers for Peace is the largest, active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace. For more information and updates, please visit the CPP Website.

Submission Guidelines: Deadline: July 15th, 2026

                Email your CV and an abstract of no more than 500 words, prepared for blind review to David Holiday at [email protected]. Write “CPP 2026 submission” in the subject line. Please be sure to include your name, institutional affiliation or status as an independent scholar or practitioner, e-mail address, and paper title in the body of your email. If you are a Graduate or Undergraduate student, please indicate so in your email. **There will be a cash prize for the best Graduate student paper and the best Undergraduate student paper.** 

Bill Gay Award for an Early Career Scholar

              The Bill Gay Award is for an early career scholar (defined as a scholar who is within 6 years of receiving their terminal degree) who has demonstrated their commitment to engaging with peace, peace studies, and peace and justice scholarship and/or activism. To be eligible for the award, a scholar must submit a full paper (5-7K words) at least two months in advance of the annual Concerned Philosophers for Peace conference. All submissions will be blind reviewed by the CPP awards committee. The award will be announced at the annual CPP conference by the awards committee chair, and comes with a $2000 prize, formal certificate of recognition, and paper publication (subject to editorial approval) in the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal The Acorn: Philosophical Studies in Pacifism and Nonviolence.

              Many thanks to Dr. Bill Gay, long-time CPP member, contributor, and activist scholar for peace and justice. His generous financial support is the backbone of this prestigious award, and CPP hopes that awardees will follow in Dr. Gay’s illustrious footsteps as lifelong champions for a more just and more peaceful world.