Annual Congress

Until 2011, the Congress of the Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA) was organized every two years on a rotational basis in the sub-regions of Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. In 2012, the Executive Committe decided to hold the Congress each year. The First APISA Congress, 2003 was held in Singapore (135 participants), the Second APISA Congress, 2005 was held in Hong Kong (110 participants) and the Third APISA Congress, 2007 convened in New Delhi (77 participants). The Fourth APISA Congress, 2009 took place in Manila (327 participants) and the Fifth APISA Congress in 2011 in Taichung (Taiwan) with over 260 participants. Further congresses took place in Turkey, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Japan and Thailand  (see Table below).

The Congress is the grandest event of the organization. Its main activity is academic in nature, and focuses on paper presentations in specific panels and workshops. Almost all attending the Congress make presentations based on abstracts that are vetted beforehand by the relevant committee of the Congress. The Congress is also a forum for the Business Meeting where the Executive Secretary of APISA presents his/her annual report and takes cognizance of feedback and resolutions that determine policy direction. Finally, the Congress endorses the democratically elected Executive Committee which also finds it expedient to meet and deliberate on policy issues.

In a sense, the Congress represents a microcosm of APISA’s objectives of promoting teaching and research, disseminating research findings, and encouraging linkages among individual academics and institutions. Academics from Asia, especially those who feel marginalized within the dominant academic discourses in the West, now have a chance to present their research and disseminate it among participating individuals and institutions. In line with its capacity development agenda, APISA provides subsidized travel and accommodation grants to academics from less-developed provincial institutions, and special effort is made to ensure balanced gender representation.
Institutions interested in hosting an APISA Congress should contact the Co-ordinator.

APISA Congresses

Year

Theme

Place

Participants

Organizing Institutions

Funding

First Congress 2003 Asia in the New Millennium: Development, Democracy and Security Singapore 135 Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies and Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, and Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore

Second Congress 2005 Governance Dilemmas in Asia: Public Action in a Competitive and Insecure World Hong Kong 110 City University of Hong Kong Swedish International Development Agency, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the City University of Hong Kong

Third Congress 2007 Conceptions of Justice in Asia New Delhi 77 Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi,
Centre for Policy Research (Delhi)
and Jamia Millia Islamia
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, University of Delhi,
University Grants Commission (UGC) of India, Ministry of External Affairs and the Ford Foundation (New Delhi)

Fourth Congress 2009 Asia in the Midst of Crises: Political, Economic, and Social Dimensions Manila 327 International Studies Department,
De La Salle University, the Yuchengco Center, and the Philippine Political Science Association
Japan Foundation

Fifth Congress 2011 Regional Integration in Asia and Europe in the 21st Century Taichung 264 Overseas Chinese University (Taiwan), Thammasat University (Thailand), De La Salle University Manila (Philippines), Institute of Social and Societal Changes (Austria), Austrian Association of East Asian Studies National Science Council Taiwan,
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, City of Taichung

Sixth Congress 2012 Policy and Politics in Changing Asia Hong Kong 138 City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Institute of Education City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and the Office of the European Union to Hong Kong and Macao

Seventh Congress 2013 PEOPLE ON THE MOVE!
Citizen Engagement and Collective Action Within and Across Asian Societies
Ankara 150 Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University, Konrad Adenauer Foundation

Eighth Congress 2014 Human Security, Conflict Management, Security Sector Reform and Local Democratization Chiang Mai 149 Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs, affiliated with Chiang Mai University
Department of Asian and Policy Studies, Hong Kong Institute of Education
Hong Kong Institute of Education
South Asia Democratic Forum
Konrad Adenaur Foundation
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Peace and Human Security in Asia (PAHSA)

Ninth Congress 2015 Asia in 2015 and Beyond:
New Challenges and Governance Agendas
Phnom Penh 137 Royal University of Phnom Penh and Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University

Tenth Congress 2016 The Asia-Pacific Conference on Security and International Relations 2016 Osaka 130 Osaka School of International Public Policy, International Academic Forum Japan Foundation

Eleventh Congress 2017 50 Years of ASEAN amidst Contemporary Challenges: Human Security, Conflict Resolution, Connectivity and Democratization Phitsanulok 163 College of ASEAN Community Studies, Naresuan University Konrad Adenaur Foundation
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Naresuan University

Twelth Congress 2018 Revisiting Bandung: Cultivating Asia's Insights on Global International Relations and Political Science Bandung, Indonesia 102 Parahyangan Catholic University Parahyangan Catholic University

Thirteenth
Congress
2019 Asian Conference on Human Security, Multiculturalism and Democracy Swutel Hotel Bangkok 89 Naresuan University

Naresuan University

Fourteenth Congress 2020 New and Future Governance Challenges in East Asia Kyung Hee University, South Korea 48 Kyung Hee University/Korean International Studies Association (KISA) Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Fifteenth Congress 2021 Asian Conference on Human Security, Multiculturalism and Democracy Ewha Womans University, Seoul 45 Ewha Womans University/Korean International Studies Association (KISA) Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Sixteenth Congress 2022 World on Fire: Whither International Cooperation? Chiang Mai University, Thailand 49 Chiang Mai University/IAFOR Research Centre Korea Foundation
Seventeenth Congress 2023 Towards New Modalities of Governance in Asia: E-democracy, Civil Society, and Human-Centred Policymaking Warmadewa College, Bali, Indonesia 75 IAFOR/Warmadewa College Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Rosenberg Institute, WISC, TANSDA, Naresuan University