AI, Technology, and Small States: Opportunities and Challenges - 11th Small States Conference - Call for Papers

Event Details

The Institute of Small and Micro States (ISMS) and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) invite submissions for the 11th Small States Conference, to be held on 9 November 2026 at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) in London.

This year's conference will explore the rapidly evolving relationship between small states, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies. The conference seeks to examine both the transformative possibilities and the structural risks that technological change presents for small states across legal, political, economic, social, and security domains.

For small states, technology may offer unprecedented opportunities: enhanced access to markets, more efficient public administration, improved service delivery, strengthened participation in global governance, and new pathways for innovation and resilience. At the same time, the accelerating development and deployment of AI and related technologies may deepen existing vulnerabilities, including regulatory dependence, digital colonialism, cyber insecurity, disinformation, labour displacement, infrastructural fragility, and exclusion from standard-setting processes.

The conference aims to bring together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to reflect critically on the role of AI and technology in shaping the futures of small states. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary contributions from law, political science, international relations, economics, development studies, public policy, sociology, technology studies, and related fields.

Possible themes

Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• AI governance and the position of small states in global norm-setting
• The regulatory capacity of small states in the face of rapid technological change
• Data governance, digital sovereignty, and informational self-determination
• Cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and digital infrastructure in small states
• AI, public administration, and the delivery of public services
• Technology and democratic resilience, including disinformation and electoral integrity
• Digital trade, innovation ecosystems, and economic development in small states
• AI and access to justice
• Labour markets, education, & technological disruption including platform workers
• Climate technology, environmental governance, and sustainability
• Migration, borders, and digital identity systems
• Human rights implications of AI deployment in small-state contexts
• Digital dependence, platform power, and technological asymmetries
• Small states and international cooperation on AI regulation
• Comparative perspectives across countries, regions and sectors
• Case studies highlighting local, national, or regional responses
    

We also welcome contributions that engage critically with the framing of "opportunities and challenges", including papers that challenge dominant assumptions about technological progress, neutrality, or inevitability.

We warmly encourage submissions from early career researchers, scholars based in small states, and those working across disciplinary boundaries.

Submission information

Please submit:

• an abstract of up to 500 words;
• a short biography of no more than 150 words; and
• your institutional affiliation and contact details.

Submissions should be sent to: Dr Jean- Pierre Gauci (j.gauci@biicl.org) and Professor Petra Butler (petra.butler@canterbury.ac.nz) with 'Abstract - Small States Conference 2026' in the subject line.

Important dates

• Abstract submission deadline: 31 August 2026
• Notification of acceptance: 10 September 2026
• Conference dates: 9 November 2026