LPAZ FORUM
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
SPACE FOR ISLANDS
7 – 9 September 2026 | Santa Maria Island, Azores, Portugal
Island Studies have evolved significantly, especially since the emergence of Nissology as a distinct scientific field at the end of the twentieth century. By advocating for “the study of islands on their own terms” (McCall, 1994), the science of islands has contributed to a critical reconfiguration of dominant epistemologies, challenging Eurocentric and metrocentric biases in knowledge production. Scholars from diverse academic backgrounds have paved the way for a postmodern world of islands (Baldacchino, 2018), where islands and oceanic regions are no longer seen as remote sites of isolation or dependence, but as platforms of entanglement—flowing with culture, science, technology and power. Islands provide innovative perspectives for our understanding of many contemporary phenomena, from geopolitical adjustments to ocean management, from space development to the articulation of sovereignty and agency in international affairs.
The theme Space for Islands arises from the urgent need to address humanity’s challenges in the Anthropocene era through an entanglement approach (Pugh and Chandler, 2021). This conference invites participants to reflect on islands as spaces of knowledge, imagination, power, and projection. The study of relations between islands and the global commons is particularly welcomed, raising the profile of these geographies in our understanding of global phenomena. Islands are not merely peripheral or isolated territories; they are nodal points of global circulation, and strategic platforms for scientific, technological, cultural, and geopolitical experimentation. From maritime and aerial connectivity to space activities, from environmental vulnerability to planetary observation, islands increasingly occupy a central position in contemporary global challenges. Space for Islands also highlights the multiple meanings of space – geographic, political, epistemic, and symbolic – and the need to address the global issues from the Island Studies perspective.
The seventh edition of the LPAZ Forum will take place on Santa Maria Island, Azores, Portugal, in September 2026. Organized by the LPAZ Association in collaboration with academic and institutional partners, the conference continues its mission to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on Atlantic, island, and global studies.
We invite contributions that engage with islands and their global context from a holistic, critical, and transdisciplinary perspective. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
– Island Studies and Nissology: theories, methods, critical debates, decolonial perspectives, and alternative epistemologies;
– Islands and geopolitics: strategy, sovereignty, autonomy, global governance, international law, and multilateral regimes;
– Islands as territory of science, technology and knowledge: aviation, space activities, oceanography, and planetary observation;
– Island history, patrimony, heritage and legacy;
– Environmental vulnerability, resilience, and sustainability in island environments;
– Islands, diasporas, and transnational mobilities;
– Cultural representations of islands in literature, media, and the arts;
– Island imaginaries: utopias, dystopias, and future visions;
– The Azores, the Atlantic, and the Global Challenges.
The conference welcomes proposals from a wide range of disciplines, including History, Political Science, International Relations, Geography, Sociology, Anthropology, Literature, Translation Studies, Cultural Studies, Economics, Law, Science and Technology Studies, as well as related fields.
Submission Guidelines
Individual paper proposals should be submitted as a single document, in English or French, and include:
A 300-word abstract;
A 100-word author biography.
Submissions should be sent by email to: forumlpaz@gmail.com
Deadline for submissions: 15 April 2026
The LPAZ Forum 2026 – Space for Islands will include a Strategic Roadmap on Santa Maria Island, as well as the launch of the edited publication of peer reviewed articles presented on the LPAZ Forum 2025 – Atlantic Bridges. Participants in the LPAZ Forum 2026 will be invited to submit their papers for peer review, with a view to publication in an international edited volume to be released the following year.
References:
McCall, G. (1994). Nissology: The study of islands. Journal of the Pacific Society, 17(2–3), 1–14.
Baldacchino, G. (Ed.). (2018). The Routledge International Handbook of Island Studies: A World of Islands. Routledge.
Pugh, J. and Chandler, D. (2021). Anthropocene Islands: Entangled Worlds. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book52.