Call for Proposals

2nd Annual

AU SIS – YPFP Research Symposium

We invite SIS graduate students and YPFP members to submit a brief research proposal (up to 300 words) outlining the topic they would like to present. Proposals may be based on ongoing or completed academic research, capstone projects, professional analysis, or independent work related to international affairs or foreign policy. Proposals should align with one of the symposium's two tracks, but the range of topics within each is broad.

Applications close January 15, 2027, 11:59PM ET.

Track 1 — Contested Environments: Resources, Conflict, and Cooperation

Research examining resources, ecosystems, and the environment as drivers of conflict and cooperation in their own right. Subtopics might include but not limited to:

• Natural resource competition

• Critical minerals

• Environmental scarcity

• Migratory pressures driven by ecological change

• Illegal wildlife trafficking

• Environmental toll of armed conflict 

Track 2 — Contested Landscapes: New Instruments and New Actors

Research examining the changing instruments and actors of conflict and crisis — economic statecraft, digital and autonomous technologies, and non-state actors. Subtopics might include but not limited to:

• Economic statecraft

• Tariff wars

• Cyber warfare, drone and AI-enabled warfare

• Growing role of non-state actors, from terrorist organizations to private companies, in shaping security outcomes.