Call for Papers: Conference on “The Challenge of Sovereignty in Theory and Practice”

The organizers invite paper proposals for a conference and subsequent volume on The Challenge of Sovereignty in Theory and Practice, 1450–1850. The conference will be held March 27–28, 2026 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida (USA). It is hosted by the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.

Lauren Benton (Yale University), Patrick Griffin (University of Notre Dame), Paul Halliday (University of Virginia), and Daniel Lee (University of California, Berkeley) will deliver plenary lectures. 

The conference and its subsequent volume will examine the theory and practice of sovereignty. The ‘long’ early modern period is inextricably associated with the development of ideas about, and debates over, sovereignty, in terms of the location of supreme power in both civil and ecclesiastical spheres, and in relation to both the internal and external affairs of states. For intellectual historians, this was the age of Machiavelli, Bodin, Grotius and Hobbes, as well as of Locke and Rousseau. This conference aims to bring intellectual historians of sovereignty into dialogue with scholars whose work explores the reality of ‘sovereign’ power, in order to reflect on how such ideas related to, and fared in response to, the practical issues facing rulers and regimes. It is based upon the idea that, at a time when religious, political, social and economic historians are more inclined to study entanglement and cultural exchange, the corporate state, and cross-border confessional communities, than to accept claims about the emergence of Westphalian sovereignty, there is considerable scope to explore how contemporaries reflected upon the awkward scenarios that emerged. The aim will thus be to explore the contexts and conjunctures in which ideas about sovereignty emerged, and the ways in which those who made such claims about power and authority engaged with the challenges posed by complex jurisdictional landscapes, unclear and porous borders, and the legal dimensions of international relations, as well as conflicting claims about the status of individuals as subjects and citizens. 

The organizers welcome proposals from advanced doctoral students and both early career and established scholars in history, political science, law, literature, economics and related fields. 

Proposals should include a 500-word abstract, a brief (1–2-page) curriculum vitae, and current contact information. Please send proposals to the three conference organizers by October 15, 2025: 

Professor Jeffrey Collins, Hamilton School, University of Florida (jeffrey.collins@ufl.edu)
Professor Robert G. Ingram, Hamilton School, University of Florida (ringram1@ufl.edu)
Professor Jason Peacey, Department of History, University College London (j.peacey@ucl.ac.uk)