Knowledge and Positionality in International Relations

TraCe researchers at the 19th Pan-European Conference on International Relations in Lisbon

From Sep­tember 1 to 4, 2026, the 19th Pan-European Con­ference on Inter­national Relations, organized by the Euro­pean International Studies Asso­ciation (EISA), took place in Lisbon. Under the title “Even better than the real thing? Questioning know­ledge produc­tion, positionality, and authen­ticity in IR,” the con­ference focused on issues related to know­ledge production, positionality, and authenticity in inter­national relations. Approxi­mately 2,000 international researchers dis­cussed these and other topics of inter­national relations in 487 panels and 103 round­tables. 

TraCe researchers partici­pated in the conference in various for­mats and shared their research. As part of a round­table discussion, Nicole Deitel­hoff explored historical and struc­tural perspectives on crises in the world order. She also pre­sented her research on theo­retical and empirical perspec­tives on stability and crises in the inter­national order. Further­more, Christopher Daase addressed the future of Euro­pean security in his con­ference paper. 

Another thema­tic focus of the partici­pating TraCe researchers was histo­rical violence and colonial con­tinuities. Lina Schneider exa­mined the Belgian Truth and Recon­ciliation Commission and its integration into an inter­national network. Sabine Mannitz pre­sented her joint research with Núrel Bahí Reitz on legal approaches to addressing colonial in­justices. Susanne Buckley-Zistel dis­cussed the decoloni­zation of transi­tional justice and partici­pated in a roundtable on North-South colla­boration perspectives in peace and con­flict studies. 

The full program and addi­tional information on the EISA are avai­lable on the conference web­site