From April 4 to April 7, 2018, the 59th Annual Convention of International Studies Association (ISA) took place in San Francisco under the headline „Power of Rules and Rule of Power“. ISA’s Annual Convention is the world’s biggest conference in International Relations with around 5000 contributors and visitors.

As in previous years, there has been a joint reception of the the Kolleg-Forschergruppe "The Transformative Power of Europe", the Collaborative Research Center SFB 700 "Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood", and the GIGA “German Institute of Global and Area Studies”. In a brief speech, Prof. Tanja Börzel and Prof. Thomas Risse provided an overview on past and present research projects while also taking the opportunity to introduce the ongoing application process for the excellence cluster “Contestations of the Liberal Script”. Following the introduction, an estimated 300 scholars from all over the world, involved or interested in research related to limited statehood and/or comparative regionalism, engaged in a vivid exchange of views. Furthermore, the visitors were invited to explore some of the publications such as the recently published “Oxford Handbook on Governance and Limited Statehood” (Oxford University Press, 2018), which summarizes the main findings of twelve years of research of the SFB 700 and provides important guidelines for ongoing research in the area of Governance.

For some visual impressions of the event, please have a look at our photo gallery.