Call for papers by young researchers: CIDOB International Yearbook 2026

The CIDOB International Yearbook is a periodical volume devoted to the analysis and study of international relations and politics. Published continuously since 1990, over its 34 editions the Yearbook has become a standard volume for experts and academics studying international affairs and a key Spanish-language tool for analysing international dynamics, drivers of change and future challenges in international politics, security and economics.

With the aim of identifying young researchers and giving them a voice, CIDOB is launching its 6th Call for Papers on the Analysis of International Relations, which is directed at students, experts and analysts under the age of 30 in order to encourage a renewed vision of today’s international challenges.

Subjects

Submitted papers should fall into one of the following thematic categories:

1. The transformation of the global economic order

In recent decades the global economy has been shaped by US-led globalisation, economic integration and the free flow of international trade within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, this world economic order is entering a period of crisis due to growing competition and rivalry between the great powers and the weaknesses exposed and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This increasingly volatile and unpredictable economic environment is pushing international actors to become more inward-looking and reluctant to foster the interdependence that drove global value chains. With the arrival of new political leaders, in particular Donald Trump in the White House, and the intensification of trade wars ‒ between rivals but also between traditional allies ‒ the WTO is in limbo, nations are scrambling to build tech industries and increasingly expanding their lists of critical or strategic goods, playing the sanctions card when they can. We are therefore facing a profound shift in thinking one that abandons the idea of ​​shared prosperity in favour of a "zero-sum" mentality, with enormous social, cultural and geopolitical implications. However, we wonder if we are indeed in a moment of transition with no return. If so, who will shape the rules of the future international economic order – the United States, China, the European Union (EU) or the BRICS+? What impact will all this have on the current multilateral financial institutions? What challenges does this new geo-economic scenario present for middle powers or smaller states? What role does the digital economy play in this context? And technologies such as cryptocurrencies or blockchain? Will credible alternatives to the dollar as the international reference currency emerge? Will it be possible to better reconcile the economic agendas of the most and least developed countries, and of the Global North and South? Who will be the winners and losers of this new international economic order?

2. The geopolitics of climate change: global and local impacts and effective measures to address them

The effects of the climate crisis are increasingly palpable and severe, with the normalisation of extreme climate phenomena that are forcing us to reflect deeply on our options, whether in the field of mitigation or adaptation or on the consequences of human action on the planet, in an era that some have called the Anthropocene. To do this, it is crucial to understand as fully as possible the reality of a complex, multidisciplinary and multilevel phenomenon which requires coordinated action at all levels, from local to global. This coincides with a fragmentation of climate governance, and with the disastrous scenario of the possible withdrawal of key economies from climate commitments and the imposition of restrictions on trade in goods that are essential for the green transition. From a geopolitical perspective, the consequences of the climate crisis are already being felt and affect the main components of the energy transition, the struggle for limited and critical natural resources, the emergence of new geopolitical arenas ‒ such as the ocean floor, the Arctic or outer space ‒ or the management of forced flows of people related to humanitarian crises or climate refugees. The mutually reinforcing effects of climate change on conflicts, food crises, poverty and the precariousness of human health create a scenario of greater inequality, with much more severe repercussions for some than for others, as they endanger the present and future survival of ways of life and the biodiversity that sustains them and us. Given this scenario, important questions arise. Who could be the possible winners and losers of the climate crisis? What areas of the fight against climate change might be most impacted by the competition among the great powers? Will the emphasis of environmental policies continue to be on mitigation, as it has been until now, or will we see an increase in adaptation? How realistic is it to rely on technological advances for solutions? How might the climate crisis affect international geopolitics? And what about current international conflicts? What are the keys to achieving a fair and inclusive energy transition? What role will the United States, the EU or the BRICS play in this area? What space is left for civil society? And where do populism, political polarisation and culture wars come into all this?

3. The future of war

2024 was a particularly violent year, one with the most active conflicts since the end of the Second World War. However, we are witnessing a diversification of conflicts of a changing nature towards a hybrid behaviour, since they combine traditional military or kinetic operations on the ground with operations in the virtual world – cyberattacks and mass disinformation campaigns – which undermine the operational capabilities of competitors and rivals, and destabilise society. This social component of war is increasingly pivotal, with attacks on civilians and urban centres; many victims are non-combatants. Due to their hybrid nature, they are also armed conflicts with no beginning or end; disputes that become chronic and that remind us of the fragility of peace in many other parts of the planet, where we are also seeing the decline of international law as an essential element of international relations and the management of humanitarian crises. Given this, and at the dawn of the mass use of artificial intelligence (AI), technological innovation appears to be bringing about a new revolution in weaponry and the performance of troops on the ground. At the same time, calls for state rearmament are growing, with the US withdrawing from many global defence commitments. The discourse of peace through prosperity and community is being replaced by security through autonomy and defence. Hence, are we facing a paradigm shift in international relations and the notion of a ”grand strategy”? How will imminent technological advances affect the future of armed conflicts and what impact will they have on the current US military hegemony? How will they impact the arms trade and traditional military alliances? Which states are the driving forces behind this transformation of the nature of war? And which are key to defending peace? What role does international law play when applied to armed conflicts and how can it prevail over those states that act outside the law? Are we still in time to promote nuclear non-proliferation and continue to maintain deterrence in the face of conflict? And what space is left for the fight for peace in this changing scenario? What role will the human component play in the wars of the future, wars that will be increasingly automated and technological? And what are the ethical, economic or sociopolitical implications of these changes? What role do historical memory and education play in the construction of a war consciousness? And how do cultural products foster a culture of peace or war? How can we design effective narratives to “win the peace”?

Requirements of the texts submitted

• Texts should be focused on the above subjects of research, they should be short, clearly explained and analytically rigorous.
• Since the call is explicitly aimed at young researchers, the authors must be a maximum of 30 years of age on May 10th, 2025.
• Papers should be 1,200 words in length in English, and 1,500 in Spanish/Catalan.
• Papers must be original and unpublished.
• The originals may be submitted in English, Spanish or Catalan.
• Works must include an abstract at the beginning (100 words) and a brief biographical note about the author (including date of birth).
• The piece should not include footnotes or bibliographical references. Where necessary, these should be mentioned within the text itself.

Timetable

• May 10th, 2025: Deadline for texts to be received.
• May 30th, 2025: Authors are notified of the results of the selection process.

Submission 

•  Papers should be sent by email to: anuariointernacional@cidob.org.
• The email’s subject field should include the phrase “Call for papers for young researchers: CIDOB International Yearbook 2026”.
• Each author may submit a maximum of two articles to this call.

Selection process

• The editorial board of the CIDOB International Yearbook will be responsible for selecting the three winning papers. The board reserves the right to declare the contest void following the evaluation process of the texts received.
• All authors will receive confirmation of the receipt of their paper and notification of the result of the selection process.

Publication

• The final winning papers to be included in the CIDOB International Yearbook will be subjected to correction and editing processes to be carried out by CIDOB's editorial team.
• The papers selected (up to a maximum of three) will be published in the Yearbook’s print and digital editions. They will be publicised and distributed via CIDOB’s website and social networks.
• If a text is considered accessit (runner-up), it will not receive remuneration and will be published only in digital format.

Remuneration

• Authors of the texts selected for publication will receive payment of €250 gross for the use of the work. 

Additional information

• Winning texts from the three previous editions are available on CIDOB's website.
• Any query or request for clarification may be submitted to the organisers through the same contact email: anuariointernacional@cidob.org

Processing of personal data

The personal data of the participants will be processed for the management of the call for entries and - in the case of the winners - for the publication and public dissemination of the works. The Data Controller is the Centre d’Informació i Documentació Internacionals a Barcelona (CIDOB).

Data subjects may exercise their rights of access, rectification, suppression and portability, limitation and/or opposition to the processing of their data. For more information, please consult CIDOB's Privacy Policy.