Political Studies Futures

PSA 76th Annual International Conference

Oxford, England

March 31 - April 1, 2026

In March 2026, scholars from around the world will gather in Oxford for the PSA26 Annual Conference, one of the most significant events in political studies. Hosted across the historic Examination Schools, St Catherine’s College, and Wadham College, PSA26 brings together researchers, practitioners, and students to explore this year’s theme: “Political Studies Futures.” With more than 200 panels and a vibrant international community, the conference offers a unique space to interrogate the political challenges shaping our rapidly changing world.

Full Program

My presentation, “Green vs. green: Defining the Tensions between Ecologism and Environmentalism in Green Political Thought,” explored a central tension within contemporary Green politics: the divide between environmentalism (often technocratic, reformist, and oriented toward policy solutions within existing structures) and ecologism (a more transformative, biocentric ideology that challenges anthropocentrism and demands structural change). As Richardson and Rootes famously argued, ecologism insists that humans are part of nature rather than above it, a philosophical shift that continues to animate debates within Green parties and movements worldwide.

Global Context: Elections, COP30, and the Green Wave

The PSA conference’s international scope made it impossible to ignore the global political landscape. With major elections in Germany, Canada, and Australia in 2025, Green parties faced setbacks across multiple first‑past‑the‑post systems and even within proportional representation.

Yet 2026 also brought a renewed sense of momentum. The UK’s “Green Wave,” marked by victories from Sián Berry, Carla Denyer, Adrian Ramsay, Ellie Chowns, and later Hannah Spencer, demonstrated that ecological politics can resonate powerfully when rooted in local engagement and clear ideological identity. This juxtaposition, global setbacks alongside regional breakthroughs, framed the urgency of clarifying what Green politics stands for.

Ideological Debates: Democracy, Rationality, and Responsibility

The presentation traced key theoretical debates within Green political thought. Brian Doherty’s distinction between green romanticism and ecological rationality highlights the tension between introspective, aesthetic relationships to nature and the structural, participatory approaches needed for ecological transformation, while John Barry’s work on Green republicanism and Green democracy further complicates the picture: how do Greens balance participatory democracy with ecological necessity, especially when ecological limits impose non‑negotiable constraints?

Presenting at PSA 2026 was an opportunity to situate Green political theory within a rapidly shifting global context. The tensions between Green and green, reform and transformation, technocracy and democracy, environmentalism and ecologism, are not abstract disagreements. They shape electoral outcomes, policy debates, and the future of ecological governance.