CFP: Pacific APA: Imperialism and the Prospects for Peace - Concerned Philosophers for Peace

Concerned Philosophers for Peace (CPP) is pleased to announce a call for abstracts for our group session(s) at the American Philosophical Association’s Pacific Division meeting in Portland, Oregon on March 24-27, 2027. We welcome any submission related to CPP’s mission of analyzing the causes of violence and prospects for peace and proposals related to all relevant areas of philosophy will be considered. We are, however, especially interested in papers that address:

Imperialism and the Prospects for Peace

We invite papers examining philosophical questions about imperialism and its relationship to violence, justice, and the prospects for peace. Papers may address the nature and moral significance of imperialism; its historical and contemporary forms; its relationship to war, colonialism, capitalism, militarism, and other forms of domination; its effects on individuals and communities; and possibilities for resisting or overcoming imperial power. We welcome work on US imperialism as well as other historical and contemporary forms of empire and imperial power, and encourage submissions from a wide range of philosophical traditions and approaches.

Please submit an abstract of 500 words and a CV to Tamara Fakhoury ([email protected]) on or before September 7, 2026. Please write “APA 2027 submission” in the subject line. Proposals from graduate students are welcome. Acceptance decisions will be emailed to authors by October 15, 2026, if not sooner.

Potential topics on this year's theme of Imperialism and the Prospects for Peace include, but are not limited to:

·      American imperialism and the exercise of U.S. military, political, and economic power abroad

·      Feminism and imperialism, including the effects of imperial policies on women; the use of women’s rights to justify intervention or domination; and feminist, transnational feminist, and decolonial critiques of imperialism

·      Artificial intelligence and warfare, including the use of AI in weapons, targeting, surveillance, and military decision-making, and the relationship between emergin technologies and imperial power

·      The nature, definition, and moral significance of imperialism, empire, and colonialism

·      The relationship between imperialism, war, militarism, occupation, and political violence

·      Historical and contemporary forms of imperialism and empire

·      Settler colonialism and its relationship to imperialism

·      Economic imperialism, sanctions, debt, exploitation, and other forms of economic domination

·      Imperialism and its intersections with race, gender, class, capitalism, and nationalism

·      International law, sovereignty, and self-determination

·      Cultural imperialism and the politics of knowledge, language, education, and representation

·      The moral responsibilities of citizens and institutions within imperial powers

·      Resistance to imperialism, including anticolonial, anti-imperialist, antiwar, and nonviolent movements

·      The ethics and politics of violent and nonviolent resistance to imperial domination

·      Decolonization, reparations, and responsibilities for the legacies of empire

·      Whether and how lasting peace is possible in a world structured by imperial power

About Concerned Philosophers for Peace

Concerned Philosophers for Peace is the largest, most active organization of professional philosophers in North America involved in the analysis of the causes of violence and prospects for peace. Concerned Philosophers for Peace is committed to an inclusive and productive environment where all can discuss the study of peace and nonviolence and how it impacts our social and political lives. More information is available at the Concerned Philosophers for Peace website:http://peacephilosophy.org.