Call for Papers: Confronting the Emerging Challenges to Local Governance

​Southern Political Science Association 2026 Annual Conference
January 14-17, New Orleans
Call for Papers
Conference within a Conference: Confronting the Emerging Challenges to Local Governance
Local governments in the United States are navigating the most disruptive impacts of federal domestic policy decisions in recent history. The political agenda of the Trump administration and the policy priorities of federal agencies have led to uncertainty around whether existing public projects can continue or those that are planned remain viable. The implications of running afoul of the federal government administration, coupled with diminished public trust in government, hyper-localized political polarization, and increasingly fraught relations between cities and state governments have the potential for cities to pull back resource capacities to address public problems, constrain their risk taking and curb innovations.
There is unarguably extensive research that seeks to understand the implications of regional fragmentation, state government actions, and federal level policy on the economic, social and environmental decisions of local governments. Nonetheless, the characteristics of contemporary political and governance issues necessitate continued discourse around the means through which local governments can or should respond in an increasingly polarized political, geographical, and policy environment. Transitions in energy production and consumption and the complexities around the climate crisis, the ebb and flow of equity and inclusion centered policies and debates about immigration, the rapid pace of technological changes and the opportunities and limitations of embracing new methods for doing the work of local government, frictions between blue cities and red state legislatures, the changing legal, institutional and normative guideposts that describe local-state-national relations, and an environment where there is greater mistrust of science, evidence, and the academy are a small handful of topics that demand the attention of the research community.
The purpose of this Conference within a Conference is to bring together scholars in multiple disciplines (political science, public administration and management, urban planning, etc) to (i) define a seemingly new set of challenges that are emerging and that local governments are currently (or may soon) face with a critical eye toward the current status of local government research, (ii) describe how  our collective research endeavor is or should pivot in response to new types of challenges faced by local government, (iii) present evidence of communities successfully addressing a particular challenge reflective of today’s political, geographic, economic and social polarization.
The CWC planning committee (Simon Andrew UNT, Jered Carr UIC, Aaron Deslatte IU, Chris Hawkins UCF, and Edgar Ramirez UNLV) welcomes individual papers or roundtable proposals for the following themes:

1. Data-Driven Decision-Making & AI Integration, such as Smart Cities initiatives for automated decision-making and surveillance.
2. Citizen Engagement & Distrust, expanding digital democracy, transparency and the spread of mis/disinformation.
3. Sustainability & Resilience Research, such as climate mitigation and adaptation strategies for local governments.
4. Governance Innovations, such as the future of collaboration between local governments, businesses and nonprofits; new models for funding local/regional public services; role of regional/national/global purpose-oriented networks.
5. Workforce & Public Administration Evolution, such as trends in automation and outsourcing of functions and personnel challenges.
6. Global Perspectives & Local Adaptations, comparative research on local government innovations, programs or policies; impacts of global phenomena (pandemics, populism, migration) on local governance.

Abstracts of 200 words or less with paper title and all authors listed, including contact information, should be submitted to Chris Hawkins [email protected] by September 1st, 2025. The date(s) and time(s) of the CwC will be finalized in early September. Submissions do not guarantee acceptance. ** do not submit your proposal using the AllAcademic website if you are submitting for this CwC**