Governance & self-determination
Islands have long been laboratories for questions of sovereignty, autonomy, and democratic self-governance. This theme explores constitutional arrangements, postcolonial transitions, and the democratic innovations emerging from island communities worldwide.
About this theme
From the Caribbean Kingdom of the Netherlands to Pacific Compact States, island polities occupy a unique and often contested space in international law and governance. Questions of autonomy, statehood, and self-determination are alive not only in constitutional texts but in everyday political life.
This track examines how island governments organise themselves, negotiate with metropolitan powers, and innovate in democratic practice. It also explores how island peoples exercise agency within, and sometimes despite, inherited colonial structures.
Curaçao's own status as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with full internal autonomy but shared citizenship and defence, makes it a compelling case for discussing what modern autonomy looks like in practice.
Topics of interest
- →Constitutional arrangements and autonomy models in island jurisdictions
- →Decolonisation processes, referendums, and political transitions
- →Small states in international organisations and multilateral diplomacy
- →Local democracy, participatory governance, and civic engagement
- →Intergovernmental relations between islands and metropolitan powers
- →Rule of law, judicial independence, and constitutional review
- →Electoral systems and political representation in small polities
- →Digital governance and e-government innovations on islands
- →Island perspectives on sovereignty in an era of globalisation
Submission formats welcome
Individual papers, comparative studies, organised panels, and practitioner roundtables are all welcome. We especially encourage contributions from scholars and practitioners with first-hand experience of island governance.