The PSA Parliaments 2020 Annual Conference will be held on 12-13 November at the Council House, Birmingham.
Our 2020 annual conference will take place in Birmingham in the city’s Council House on Thursday, 12 November (6pm-8pm) for a welcome wine reception and Friday, 13 November (9am-5pm) for a full one-day conference.
The impact of Covid-19 has led to the re-organisation of the work of parliaments in a very short space of time, sometimes overthrowing – or at least suspending – centuries of tradition. This process has thrown into sharp relief the purpose and effectiveness of hitherto existing practices and procedures that, in turn, perhaps raise questions about what parliamentarians should return to once the current crisis is over. It is in response to this context that our theme for this year’s annual conference is Parliaments in 20/20 Vision. We wish to reflect upon the past, present and future of parliaments and parliamentary studies and, in so doing, we especially welcome submissions on aspects of continuity and change within parliamentary institutions and behaviour.
Our conference aims to highlight the best research on legislatures, bringing into sharp focus the roles and functions parliaments and parliamentarians play – whether effectively or otherwise – in the political process and society more broadly. It is the most important event of the year for the PSA Parliaments Group. The conference includes not only academic panels but a keynote practitioner panel, the formal presentation of the winner of the Group’s undergraduate essay competition, and provides opportunities for academics and practitioners in the field of parliamentary studies to meet and discuss their work and interests.
This year’s conference will be held in the UK’s second city, Birmingham, and is being part-sponsored by the School of Government at the University of Birmingham. In keeping with previous conferences, the conference will be held in the Birmingham City Council House, a Grade II listed building and the seat of government for the largest local authority in Europe.
Our call for submissions
As in previous years, we ask participants to submit a 150-word abstract which, if accepted, should be turned into a 1,500-word blog post. We aim to circulate draft blog pieces before the conference, and publish revised versions after the conference on the PSA Parliaments Group website. To submit your abstract, please complete and send in this form by 17 July 2020. We welcome researchers, academics and practitioners from all disciplines and at all levels and, of course, we promote theoretical diversity and methodological pluralism.
Conference details
Dates and times: Thu, 12th November (6pm-8pm)-Fri, 13th November 2020 (9am-5pm)
Location: Birmingham City Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BB, England.
*** We are hoping that we can hold the event as advertised but if this is not possible due to Covid-19, then the conference will be postponed until 2021 ***