Call for Proposals: Second Annual Meeting of the Association of Law and Political Economy (ALPE) 2027 [Boston, USA, 9-10 June 2027]

The Association of Law and Political Economy (ALPE) invites proposals for its second annual meeting, to be held on 9-10 June 2027 in Boston, Massachusetts. Panels, roundtables and individual paper proposals are welcome. ALPE encourages submissions from academics, organisers, practitioners, policy professionals and others working on the relationship between law and political economy.

ALPE is an independent, member-driven association dedicated to producing scholarly knowledge that centres issues of political economy in the study of law. Its executive committee and board are drawn from law schools including Boston University, Boston College, Georgetown, Cornell and the University of Richmond, along with MIT and UMass Amherst. The call was also published on the LPE Project blog on 10 September 2026.

The conference seeks to advance scholarship and movement work on the ways law both shapes and reflects the hierarchies that order the social world. LPE work embraces the contested boundaries of analytic categories such as “law” and “the economy”, and frequently centres questions of:

• empire and citizenship
• class and racialization
• sex/gender and sexuality
• the carceral state
• disability

Each submission is filed under a subject area selected within the online portal.

ALPE welcomes proposals from practitioners, policy professionals, faculty, postdocs and fellows, JD and PhD students, and independent scholars. The call states no nationality or jurisdiction restriction, so researchers based in India may submit. Participants should plan to attend the conference in person in Boston on Wednesday, 9 June and Thursday, 10 June 2027.

ALPE applies a strict one-presentation policy: each attendee may appear only once as a panelist or on a roundtable. Chairing a panel or roundtable does not count as a presentation.

Panels should include four paper presenters and one chair. Panels with fewer than four presenters may be supplemented by the Conference Committee with panelists drawn from accepted individual papers. Papers should be works in progress. A panel proposal must include:

• a title and 150-word description of the panel
• the name of the chair, who facilitates the panel
• the names of all paper presenters, who must agree in advance to join
• a subject area selected within the portal
• a single file upload with the panel title and 150-word description, each author’s name and short bio, and a 250-word abstract of each paper

Roundtables should include four or five participants and one chair, and feature discussions inviting audience participation on an LPE-related research, pedagogy or organising question, or share skills helpful for LPE scholars and advocates. A roundtable proposal must include:

• a title and 250-word description of the discussion
• the name of the chair, who facilitates the roundtable and discussion
• the names of 4-5 participants, who must agree in advance to join
• a subject area selected within the portal

Individual papers may be submitted and, if accepted, will be grouped into panels. Papers should be works in progress. An individual proposal must include:

• the author’s name and the title of the paper
• a subject area selected within the portal
• a single file upload containing the author’s name, the paper title and a 250-word abstract

ALPE strongly encourages panel or roundtable proposals, although individual papers will also be considered.

A conference registration fee applies; the call does not yet state the amount. The fee covers conference costs and helps fund participation by scholars who need financial assistance. Reduced registration fees will be available for students, postdocs and fellows. Applicants may request financial support in the submission portal, and ALPE will contact accepted applicants about support options.

ALPE membership is encouraged but the call does not make it a condition of submission.

Submit your panel, roundtable or individual paper proposal through ALPE’s online portal (a Google Form; sign-in with a Google account is required) by 9 December 2026. ALPE will announce decisions by 5 March 2027. Drafts of all accepted papers are due two weeks before the conference and will be shared securely with conference participants.