Call for Papers: SAC ELGAR AI 2026, South Asian Conference on Election Law, Governance and Administrative Reforms in the Age of AI, Manipal University Jaipur [Online; 14-15 Dec 2026]

The Faculty of Law at Manipal University Jaipur invites abstracts for the South Asian Conference on Election Law, Governance and Administrative Reforms in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (SAC ELGAR AI 2026). The brochure carries the line Democracy in Transition. It will be held online on MS Teams on 14-15 December 2026.

The conference offers an interdisciplinary platform for scholars, judges, election administrators, policymakers, technologists, civil society actors and researchers to discuss the future of democratic governance. It treats democracy as an evolving political and legal project and gives particular attention to democratic backsliding, institutional accountability, political polarisation, declining public trust, constitutional safeguards and the ways emerging technologies may transform democratic participation and institutional design.

A central focus is electoral governance and integrity. Electoral processes are increasingly exposed to misinformation, synthetic media, algorithmic manipulation, opaque political financing, deepfakes, automated propaganda networks and AI-generated political content. The conference will examine how legal and institutional frameworks can respond while safeguarding fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and political participation.

It will also examine the growing use of artificial intelligence in governance and public administration, including public service delivery, welfare administration, surveillance, predictive governance and regulatory decision-making, and the questions this raises about transparency, accountability, procedural fairness, algorithmic bias and protection of fundamental rights.

Manipal University Jaipur (MUJ) was launched in 2011 by the Manipal Education & Medical Group and is accredited with A+ Grade by NAAC. It began legal education in 2014. Its Faculty of Law offers the five-year integrated BA LLB (Hons.), BBA LLB (Hons.), the three-year LLB, three LLM streams (Corporate and Commercial Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Criminal and Security Laws) and a doctoral programme with more than 60 research scholars. The Faculty has over 1100 students and 43 faculty members.

• Collaborators named in the brochure: the Association for Democratic Reforms (established in 1999 by IIM Ahmedabad professors), Asia Centre (Thailand) and the Faculty of Legal Studies, South Asian University.
• CAISR International is the Research Partner.
• Manupatra is the Knowledge Partner.

Theme 1: Foundations of Democratic Theory

• Reimagining Democracy in the Twenty-First Century
• Democratic Backsliding and Constitutional Resilience
• Philosophical and Comparative Perspectives on Democratic Governance

Theme 2: Constitutional Governance, Administration and Rule of Law

• Judicial Independence and Constitutional Accountability
• Administrative Reforms and Good Governance
• Federalism, Decentralisation and Democratic Deepening
• Institutional Integrity and Constitutional Design

Theme 3: Artificial Intelligence, Technology and Digital Governance

• Algorithmic Governance and Administrative Decision-Making
• AI, Public Administration and the Rule of Law
• Social Media Regulation and Electoral Processes
• Digital Rights, Data Governance and Democratic Accountability

Theme 4: Gender, Diversity and Political Representation

• Women's Political Participation and Representation
• Constitutional Approaches to Gender Equality
• Minority Rights and Democratic Inclusion
• Identity, Representation and Electoral Justice

Theme 5: Elections, Electoral Integrity and Democratic Reform

• Electoral Governance and Institutional Independence
• Disinformation, Deepfakes and Election Security
• Campaign Finance Transparency and Electoral Accountability
• Electoral System Reforms and Democratic Representation

Theme 6: Democracy and Emerging Global Challenges

• Majoritarianism, Populism and Constitutional Pluralism
• Democracy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
• Deliberative, Participatory and Digital Democracy
• Democratic Futures, Sovereignty and Global Governance

• Release of call for abstracts: 02 October 2026
• Last date for abstract submission: 30 October 2026
• Intimation of acceptance: 05 November 2026
• Submission of full papers: 05 December 2026
• Conference: 14-15 December 2026, online on MS Teams

• The abstract must not exceed 250-300 words and should include 5 to 7 keywords.
• It should outline the structure of the research paper: the title, background, aim or purpose of the research, methodology, and a conclusion that reflects the author's perspective.
• It should carry the title of the paper, the full name of the author(s), their designation, the affiliated institution or university and an email address.
• A concise running title of fewer than 40 characters is recommended.
• Abstracts are submitted through the Google Form at https://forms.gle/JJRpsNY8ch1MofJp7 by 30 October 2026.
• Submissions undergo a blind peer review, and only abstracts approved by the reviewers are accepted as full papers for presentation. A Scientific Committee evaluates abstracts and full papers.

• Research articles should be 7,000 to 10,000 words including references, with the abstract (maximum 300 words) inside it.
• The suggested structure is Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. Authors should state their research questions clearly and review the relevant recent literature.
• Text: Times New Roman, font size 12, spacing 1.5.
• Speaking footnotes and end-notes are discouraged.
• Reference style is APA for the conference paper presentation. Further changes and format will be communicated as per the guidelines of the concerned Scopus books and journals.
• The manuscript must be the author's original work and free from plagiarism. All submissions are subject to a plagiarism check, and manuscripts with AI content in any form will be summarily rejected.
• The manuscript must not be previously published or under review at any other journal, conference or book, and must not be submitted elsewhere while under review with the organisers.
• The organisers are not responsible for copyright violations; any IP infringement is the sole responsibility of the author(s).
• The final decision on acceptance and publication rests with the Scientific Committee.

The conference is held online on MS Teams. The paper is sent first, and authors register for the conference after their paper is selected for presentation.

• Industry Members and Academicians: Rs. 2000
• Research Scholars and Students: Rs. 1500
• Co-Authorship: Rs. 3000
• International Participants: USD 20

The registration fee is paid through the payment link on the conference page and brochure.

Selected submissions may be considered for publication in Scopus-indexed journals, including Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal (Q2), subject to the respective journals' peer-review processes and editorial acceptance. Additional submissions may also be considered for a Scopus-indexed edited volume, subject to the quality of the papers and the discretion of the Editorial Board.

Only quality papers will be published in Scopus books and journals, even though other papers may be accepted for presentation. The communication for publication will be sent separately to authors after the presentation in the conference. Any applicable article processing charges (APCs) or other publication fees will be borne separately by the participants, at the actual rates prescribed by the respective publishers.

• Chief Patron: Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M. D. Venkatesh, Chairperson, MUJ
• Organising Chair: Prof. (Dr.) Saumya Uma, Dean, Faculty of Law, MUJ
• Conveners: Dr. Vedansh Sharma, Assistant Professor, FoL, MUJ; Prof. (Dr.) Sonu Agarwal, Head of the Department, Faculty of Law, MUJ; Mr. Toshan Chandrakar, Assistant Professor, FoL, MUJ

Email: sac.elgar.ai@gmail.com. Dr. Vedansh Sharma, Assistant Professor of Law: +91-8302965771. Mr. Toshan Chandrakar, Assistant Professor of Law: +91-9770780682. Website: https://jaipur.manipal.edu/fol/conference.php. Address: Faculty of Law, Manipal University Jaipur, Off Ajmer-Jaipur Expressway, Dahmi Kalan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India-303007.