Featured events

01 Special events (in chronological order)

Public lecture by Professor Cynthia Enloe: What feminists reveal when they investigate masculinities: The case of military 'manpower' – Tuesday 17 June, 6-7.30pm, Canada Room and Council Chamber, Queen's University Belfast

Opening the BISA2025 50th anniversary conference, this popular lecture will explore how and why military recruiters - in Myanmar, Fiji, UK, Russia, Ukraine, US - wield popular hopes and anxieties about "manliness" to build their forces. Feminists have shown that governments depend on (and worry about!)  women in their often-failed efforts. Free registration required.

Postgraduate Network and first-timers meet up - Sponsored by the Postgraduate Network. Tuesday 17 June, 7.45-9.30pm, Sunflower Pub (upstairs function room), 65 Union St, Belfast, BT1 2JG

Join the Postgraduate Network (PGN) and meet fellow first-timers, postgraduates and ECRs. Our friendly and welcoming PGN committee members will be there to greet you and help make some introductions. Pizza and drinks will be available to purchase.

Special roundtable celebrating the work of Dr Emma Hutchison – Wednesday 18 June, 10.45am-12.15pm, Dublin, Europa Hotel

Book Launch: A Century of State-Making in Iraq: Baghdad, Kurdistan, and the Development of the Constitution – Wednesday 18 June, 10.45am-12.15pm, Copenhagen, Europa Hotel

Michael Cox War Studies keynote - Belfast Days: Teaching War - Living Peace, 1972-1995 SPONSORED BY POLITY – Wednesday 18 June, 1.15-2.45pm, Minor Hall, Assembly Buildings Conference Centre

Introduction to Book Publishing – Wednesday 18 June, 3-4.30pm, Minor Hall, Assembly Buildings Conference Centre

This roundtable is intended to provide a valuable service to the BISA community by offering an overview of book publishing, especially for first-time authors. This international group of experienced editors represent both university presses and commercial academic presses. They will both describe and demystify how to get published, what you should expect throughout the process, and what you should do after publication to help make your book a success.

Public event: 50 years and counting: reflecting on the discipline and profession of International Studies – Wednesday 18 June, 4.45-6.15pm, Assembly Hall, Assembly Buildings Conference Centre

In celebration of our 50th anniversary, and as part of the #BISA2025 conference in Belfast, we'll be bringing together a roundtable of distinguished former BISA Chairs to discuss how international relations – as a set of global relations and as a scholarly discipline -  has changed over the last five decades.

UACES Panel: What is the role of Professional Associations in advancing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Higher Education – Thursday 19 June, 9-10.30am, Grand 3, Europa Hotel

Prize giving ceremony – Thursday 19 June, 12.25-1.15pm, Penthouse Suite, Europa Hotel. Be the first to know who’s won the 2025 BISA prizes, including the Distinguished Contribution Prize and the Susan Strange Best Book Prize.

Teaching & Learning Café – Thursday 19 June, 1.15-2.45pm, Minor Hall, Assembly Buildings Conference Centre

West Belfast walking tour - Thursday 19 June, 1.30-4pm. SPECIAL PRICE FOR BISA DELEGATES: £20. Visit the Catholic Falls Road and Protestant Shankill Road. The tour explains the Troubles and peace process with stops at the famous murals, memorial gardens and peacewalls between the two communities. Over 2 miles and 2.5 hours you will hear how the conflict we know as ‘the Troubles’ began, how it unfolded over the next 30 years and affected the two communities, what it was like to live here and how it’s legacy continues to affect the city and its people. Book now to secure your place.

War in the Middle East: Global and Regional Perspectives - Thursday 19 June, 3-4.30pm, Grand 3, Europa Hotel

Publishing in War and Security Studies – Thursday 19 June, 3-5pm, Robinsons Pub, 38-40 Great Victoria St, Belfast BT2 7BA

Keynote: Professor Roland Bleiker (Queensland) - Seeing and Sensing World Politics SPONSORED BY THIRD WORLD QUARTERLY – Thursday 19 June, 4.45-6.15pm, Assembly Hall, Assembly Buildings Conference Centre

Roland Bleiker is Professor of International Relations at the University of Queensland, where he coordinates a Visual Politics Research Program. Roland’s research explores how images and emotions shape political phenomena, including humanitarianism, security, peacebuilding, protest movements and the conflict in Korea.  His current main project is an interdisciplinary collaboration on Visualising Humanitarianism, involving several partner organisations, including the ICRC and the World Press Photo Foundation.

Belfast Blitz History Talk by Scott Edgar, Editor of Wartime Northern Ireland – Thursday 19 June, 6.30-7.30pm, Penthouse Suite, Europa Hotel

April and May 1941 brought the Second World War to Northern Ireland, shattering peace and tranquility and ending the notion that it would never happen here. The Luftwaffe attacked in waves, decimating working-class neighbourhoods in the almost undefended city. Many myths abounded for years following the Belfast Blitz. While many focus on facts and figures, we must look at the people's story.

Contested Heritage: Curating conflict in and about Northern Ireland – Thursday 19 June, 6.30-8.30pm, 28 Bedford Street, BT2 7FE

Sponsored by the Journal of War and Culture Studies. Although this is open to all conference delegates you need to register separately to attend.

Environment and Climate Politics on the Brink: social enterprise visit and working group reception – Thursday 19 June, 7-8pm, Brink! Belfast Stories, Union St, Belfast BT1 2JG

Join the Environment and Climate Politics Working Group on a site visit to Brink!, an exciting climate focused social enterprise in the heart of Belfast. Join us on a visit to Brink!'s flagship project, a formerly derelict city centre space that has been transformed into a visitor centre and urban garden. Learn about how civil society groups in Belfast are finding new ways of thinking and acting in a climate crisis, as well as the work of the newly formed Environment and Climate Politics Working Group and how you can get involved. The site visit will be followed by a social in the Sunflower.

Colonial Postcolonial Decolonial Working Group - Early Career Paper Prize 2025 Roundtable – Friday 20 June, 1.15-2.45pm, Grand 5, Europa Hotel

West Belfast walking tour - Friday 20 June, 1.30-4pm. SPECIAL PRICE FOR BISA DELEGATES: £20. Visit the Catholic Falls Road and Protestant Shankill Road. The tour explains the Troubles and peace process with stops at the famous murals, memorial gardens and peacewalls between the two communities. Over 2 miles and 2.5 hours you will hear how the conflict we know as ‘the Troubles’ began, how it unfolded over the next 30 years and affected the two communities, what it was like to live here and how it’s legacy continues to affect the city and its people. Book now to secure your place.

02 BISA journal events

• Meet the Editors of the Review of International Studies, European Journal of International Security, and International Affairs – Wednesday 18 June, 1.15-2.45pm, Penthouse Suite, Europa Hotel
• Colonial Postcolonial Decolonial Working Group - Early Career Paper Prize 2025 – Friday 20 June, 1.15-2.45pm, Grand 5, Europa Hotel
• The Future of Security Studies – Wednesday 18 June, 10.45am-12.15pm, Grand 1, Europa Hotel
• Open Access Publishing in International Studies – Thursday 19 June, 1.15-2.45pm, Grand 2, Europa Hotel
• Academic standards in the time of ‘Fast Research’ – Friday 20 June, 10.45am-12.15pm, Copenhagen, Europa Hotel

03 Queen’s University Belfast sponsored events

Reflections on gender, peace and security with Northern Ireland’s feminist activists and peacebuilders (Sponsored by the Centre For Gender in Politics at QUB) – Wednesday 18 June, 1.15-2.45pm, Grand 3, Europa Hotel

Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Artificial Intelligence IR – Wednesday 18 June, 3-7pm, Momentum1-0 ; Queen’s Titanic Quarter; Queen's Road, Belfast, BT3 9DT

Navigating Critical Approaches to IR: Troubleshooting your PhD. This event is sponsored by the QUB School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy & Politics, and the QUB Mitchell Institute – Thursday 19 June, 8-9am, Lobby Bar, Europa Hotel

This event requires a separate registration and is currently fully booked.

04 Exhibition hall

The exhibition hall is located in The Exchange at the Europa Hotel and is open from 10.45am to 6.15pm on Wednesday 18 June, 9am to 6.15pm on Thursday 19 June, and 9am to 4.45pm on Friday 20 June.

In addition to a wide range of exhibitors, we have a BISA backdrop where you can take a selfie with friends and colleagues, and tables and chairs to use for meetings and work. On Thursday 19 June we will have a pop-up headshot studio available from 10.30am to 3pm. You can commission a new professional-looking headshot, free of charge, to use on your website, LinkedIn, research profiles, or wherever else you need them. The headshots are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and your images will be sent to you by the BISA team after the conference.

Thinking Global, The E-International Relations podcast, will be recording and broadcasting from the exhibition hall at the conference in Belfast for the duration of #BISA2025.

05 Working group AGMs

• Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial AGM – Wednesday 18 June, 12.15 – 1.15pm, Dublin, Europa Hotel
• Emotions in Politics and International Relations AGM– Wednesday 18 June 12.15 – 1.15pm, Grand 4, Europa Hotel
• Ethics and World Working Group AGM – Thursday 19 June 6.30 – 7.30pm, Paris, Europa Hotel
• Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial meeting for workshop consultation – Friday 20 June 12.15-13.15pm, Dublin, Europa Hotel

06 Food, drink, entertainment and Belfast

We’ll be providing all delegates with tea and coffee before the first panels begin, two refreshment breaks each day, and lunch. This is a good time to meet other delegates and visit the exhibitor hall too. Don’t miss our conference reception on Wednesday 18 June at Titanic Belfast. This includes a free ticket to visit the museum galleries. Titanic Belfast is the world's largest Titanic visitor experience. The reception venue boasts stunning views of the Slipways and Belfast Lough, where the world famous liner was designed, built and launched. There’ll also be photo opportunities aplenty on the replica of the liner's Grand Staircase. You can visit the museum galleries from 5.30pm. The reception begins at 6.15pm.

Many of you will be keen to get out and explore Belfast. Our conference team at Queen’s University Belfast have put together a ‘Belfast survival guide’ for you, with information on everything from coffee shops to local attractions. You can also browse a wide range of delegate discount offers from Visit Belfast on their website.

07 PDF programme

Although you can save a copy of the conference programme as a pdf at any time, we've left a handy instantly downloadable version here in case you need it. This pdf was created on 16 May 2025, so please be aware that changes could have been made since then.