OCIS 2027 is hosted by the Univeristy of the South Pacific and the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs.
Pluralism and Hope: World Politics and Pacific International Relations
World politics is undergoing a fundamental transformation. The sources of this transformation range from shifting geographies of power to the climate crisis, and from intense technological change to the weaponisation of interdependence. The result of these multiple sources of change is often taken to be a more fragmented, plural global order. And the prospects of constructing unity of purpose from this plural order are usually taken to be slim. However, many parts of the world, including the Island Pacific, see pluralism as the starting point for cultivating a harmonious, inclusive and just political order, as in the notions of the Blue Pacific and the sea of islands.
Rather than succumb to the politics of despair, the Oceanic Conference on International Studies (OCIS) 2027 will explore the politics of hope, particularly that which emerges from a recognition of plural worldviews, knowledges, values and methods. It will be a conference on global politics that is both in the Pacific and from the Pacific, which activates its location in Fiji to build community through Talanoa, that fosters engagement across difference, and that sees the region not as peripheral, but as a central source of insight and innovation.
Conference program
The conference will run across three days, 7 – 9 July at the University of the South Pacific. View the program overview here.
Important dates
- Call for proposals opens
2 September 2026
- Registration open
October 2026
- Call for proposals closes
31 October 2026 (10.59am Canberra Time & 11:59pm Fiji Time)
- Decision notifications sent out
18 December 2026
- Pre-conference workshops
7 July 2027
- Conference welcome event
7 July 2027, evening
- Conference close
9 July 2027
The Oceanic Conference on International Studies (OCIS) 2027 is hosted by The University of the South Pacific, in partnership with the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University.
Event Speakers
Professor Amitav Acharya, American University
Professor Bina D’Costa, The Australian National University
Professor Toni Erskine, The Australian National University
Dr Kenneth G. Kuper, University of Guam
Dr Anna Naupa, Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat
Professor Vincent Pouliot, McGill University
Professor Steven Ratuva, University of Canterbury
Professor Christian Reus-Smit, University of Melbourne
Dr Claire Slatter, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
