SEPDER II. International Social Policies Congress

The Termez Social Sciences Congress is positioned as an intellectual response to two fundamental deficiencies often encountered in contemporary sustainability debates: techno-optimism that overlooks political and social barriers, and narrow perspectives that focus on national solutions without addressing global interdependencies. In this context, the vision of the congress is to lay the groundwork for a politically and socially realistic dialogue on the green transformation.

 * Fostering a Holistic Understanding: The core objective of the congress is to bring together academics, policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society advocates to develop “a holistic understanding of the complex dynamics of the green transformation." This requires moving beyond disciplinary silos and adopting a systemic perspective.

 * Analysis at a Global Scale: The scope of the congress is committed to “examining the political, economic, social, and technological dimensions of the transformation on a global scale, moving beyond narrow national case studies". This approach sets a high-level analytical goal by focusing on transnational forces, global supply chains, and the diffusion of international norms that shape the trajectory of the transformation.

 * Examining Power Relations: Acknowledging that the transition process is not a neutral technical exercise, the congress will critically examine the “synergies, conflicts, and power relations that shape the trajectory of the transition worldwide". This indicates that it will not shy away from the political and often contentious nature of the transformation but will instead place these dynamics at the center of its analysis.

 * Generating Actionable Insights: Our vision is not limited to mere academic discussion. A stated objective is to “generate actionable insights". This means there will be a focus on policy-oriented and practical solutions that can inform the work of the participants.

 * Strengthening Global Partnerships: The final pillar of the vision is to “strengthen the global partnerships necessary to manage this planetary transition". This objective directly links the congress's activities to the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), aiming for an impact that extends beyond the conference halls.

Thematic Framework: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Sustainability

The intellectual backbone of the congress is a comprehensive framework that examines the green transformation through four main thematic pillars. Each theme is designed to allow participants to find their area of expertise and understand the specific discussions to which they can contribute.

Theme I: The Political Economy of Global Green Transitions

This theme delves into the governance structures, power dynamics, and policy instruments that enable or constrain the green transformation. It moves beyond a simple policy implementation analysis to center on the complex interplay of interests, institutions, and ideologies that shape societal change.

 * The Governance of Transformation: Institutional Structures and Path Dependency

   This sub-theme examines the “institutional DNA" of the modern capitalist state and economy. It analyzes how these structures, having co-evolved with fossil fuels, exhibit a natural resistance to transformational change. This resistance is not a matter of ill-intent but a deep-seated “path dependency" problem, as the system is optimized for a fossil-fueled world. This creates contradictory situations where political systems, while promoting green policies on one hand, continue to finance the very systems they aim to change through mechanisms like fossil fuel subsidies on the other. This analysis reveals that the problem cannot be solved merely by designing “better policies"; the primary obstacle is the fundamental institutional structure that renders these policies dysfunctional, and this structure itself must be transformed. In this context, the challenges posed by the “trilemma" of simultaneously achieving ecological protection, economic growth, and social welfare will also be discussed.

 * The Politics of Transformation: Conflicts, Power Relations, and Justice

   This section focuses on the “complex and power-laden processes of societal change". The green transformation is an inherently political struggle that creates winners and losers, thus leading to socio-ecological conflicts. Within this framework, the strategies of incumbent fossil fuel industries to delay or shape the transition in their favor will be examined against the mobilization strategies of civil society and green entrepreneurs advocating for more radical change. Central to this theme is the concept of a “just transition". This concept mandates policies that address the distributional consequences of the transformation and adhere to the principle of “leaving no one and no place behind". Issues such as job losses in carbon-intensive sectors and the impacts of the transformation on vulnerable communities will be addressed in line with this principle.

 * The Policy of Transformation: Instruments, Efficacy, and Global Diffusion

   This sub-theme analyzes the design and effectiveness of specific policy instruments, from carbon taxes to green industrial strategies. It challenges the common assumption that technology is the primary driver of change. Instead, it argues that the transformation is “not a technology-driven phenomenon but a direction-focused one shaped by ambitious, political, and institutional changes". The decision to invest in, subsidize, and regulate green technologies is a political act that steers the market. This highlights the immense power and responsibility of policymakers and warns that without just political guidance, developing countries may face new forms of dependency and inequality with new green technologies.

Theme II: Socio-Technical Systems in Flux: Innovation, Industry, and Infrastructure

This theme examines the engines of transformation—technology, finance, and industrial strategy—and how they co-evolve with societal practices. It treats the transformation as a fundamental reconfiguration of large-scale socio-technical systems such as energy, mobility, and food.

 * Techno-Economic Paradigm Shifts: The Role of Disruptive Innovation

   This section analyzes how disruptive innovations, such as renewable energy or artificial intelligence for energy efficiency, fundamentally alter the “parameters of competitiveness across industry, agriculture, and services". Submissions focusing on the link between Digital Transformation (DX) and Sustainability Transformation (SX) are particularly encouraged. Topics such as green coding, green system architecture, and the use of big data to optimize resource use will be covered in this scope.

 * The Business of Transformation: Corporate Strategy and Sustainable Finance

   Moving beyond the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), this section examines the integration of sustainability into core business strategies, driven by risk management, consumer demand, and regulatory pressures. A critical focus of this sub-theme is the mobilization of finance. This includes analyzing the role of sustainable investment frameworks, the challenge of financing the large upfront capital costs required for green infrastructure, and the necessity of capital withdrawal (divestment) from unsustainable systems.

 * Industrial and Infrastructural Overhaul: Building a Resilient Future

   This section addresses the physical backbone of the transformation, such as energy grids, transportation networks, and sustainable buildings. It examines the concept of “creative destruction" that emerges in this process, whereby green jobs are created while job losses occur in traditional industries. This theme introduces what is perhaps the congress's most important analytical framework: the “Transformation Trilemma". This framework highlights the challenge for policymakers to strike a delicate balance between three core dimensions: the speed of the transition (the urgency demanded by climate science), the justice of its outcomes (ensuring equity), and the stability of the socio-economic system (avoiding disruptive shocks). Understanding this trilemma provides a sophisticated tool for evaluating policy success that goes beyond a simple “is it green?" metric. For example, a transition that is too fast may be unjust and destabilizing (violating the “just transition" principle in Theme I), while one that focuses solely on justice may be too slow to meet climate targets. This trilemma serves as a map for understanding why different social groups have different priorities and what the sources of socio-ecological conflicts are.

Theme III: The Social Fabric of Sustainability: Equity, Justice, and Cultural Shifts

This theme focuses on the human dimension, emphasizing that the transformation is not merely an economic or technological project, but a fundamentally social and cultural one.

 * The Imperative of a Just Transition: Equity and Inclusion

   Returning to the principle of “leaving no one behind," this section analyzes how the costs and benefits of the transformation are distributed. The core argument of this sub-theme is that social inequality and environmental degradation are not separate problems but are locked in a “mutually reinforcing feedback loop". Poverty leads to the overexploitation of resources for survival, while the overconsumption of the wealthy also fuels environmental degradation. This degradation, in turn, disproportionately affects the poorest, further deepening inequality. This cyclical relationship inverts the traditional understanding of causality: Inequality is not just an unfortunate consequence of environmental degradation but also a fundamental driver of it. Therefore, it is argued that policies focusing only on environmental symptoms without addressing the underlying social causes (poverty, inequality) are doomed to fail or will produce unjust outcomes. Effective environmental policy must also be effective social policy.

 * Consumption, Lifestyles, and the Evolution of Green Values

   This section explores the cultural shifts necessary for a sustainable future, arguing that a transformation can only succeed if “technological advancements go hand-in-hand with wide-ranging lifestyle changes". It examines the barriers to and drivers of sustainable consumption, and how “green values" emerge, spread, and become politically effective.

 * The Role of Civil Society, Education, and Public Engagement

   This sub-theme investigates the role of non-state actors in driving the transformation. It emphasizes that sustainability transitions require not only political leadership but also “civil society pressure and evidence-based advocacy". It addresses the need for “a new kind of culture, a new kind of collaboration, and a new kind of leadership" and opens for discussion participatory governance models such as citizens' assemblies.

Theme IV: Realigning Global Frameworks: From Commitments to Action

This theme critically assesses the effectiveness of international frameworks, primarily the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and aims to bridge the gap between global commitments and the realities of implementation.

 * The 2030 Agenda at a Crossroads: Assessing Progress and Peril

   This section offers a clear assessment of the state of the SDGs. While the Goals provide a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity," progress is “alarmingly off-track," and the promise of the Goals is “in peril" due to successive crises (pandemic, conflicts, inflation). This section encourages papers that offer independent, evidence-based assessments that go beyond official progress reports.

 * The Architecture of Accountability: Monitoring, Review, and Data

   This section argues that the widely acknowledged “implementation gap" is not just a problem of finance or technology, but fundamentally a “governance gap". The “soft governance framework" of the SDGs, which is “not legally binding" and relies on country “ownership," is too weak to compel transformative action when confronted with the hard realities created by entrenched political and economic powers. There is a direct causal link between this weakness in governance at the global level and the institutional “path dependency" identified at the national level in Theme I. The “hard" structures of national systems resistant to change, combined with the “soft" structure of the global system unable to compel change, results in systemic inertia. This explains why the implementation gap exists and shows that solutions must simultaneously address both national institutional reform and the strengthening of global governance.

 * Focus on SDG 17: The Imperative of Global Partnership

   This section is dedicated to Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), the key enabler of the entire 2030 Agenda. It analyzes the state of global cooperation in the areas of finance, technology, trade, and capacity-building. It addresses issues such as the growing external debt problem of developing countries and the need for developed countries to meet their Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments.

A Call for Interdisciplinary Dialogue and Global Partnership

The scale and complexity of the green transformation present a systemic challenge that no single discipline, sector, or nation can solve alone. Solutions lie at the intersection of the congress's four thematic pillars. Progress requires aligning political will (Theme I), technological innovation (Theme II), social consensus (Theme III), and global cooperation (Theme IV).

Our congress meets international standards. In terms of both the scientific committee and the diversity of participating countries, it complies with the criteria for associate professorship (2025) and academic incentives. Relevant official documents required for these processes will be shared with participants.

The congress call has been extended to 30 countries, with applications received from 15 countries to date.

The quota for participants from Türkiye is capped at 45%.

Presentations will be delivered in Turkish and English.

Abstracts must be submitted for application. The evaluation process takes up to 3 days, and authors are notified promptly of results.

Full papers are not mandatory for participation.

To publish your full paper in the congress proceedings, submit it by November 16, 2025 to info@intspc.com.

No official hotel partnerships have been established, as participants come from diverse countries and income groups.

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Researchers and experts working on the congress subtopics are eligible to apply.