Call for Contributions NISA International Conference 2026
The Netherlands Intelligence Studies Association (NISA) invites scholars, practitioners, and other interested professionals to participate in an international conference on “Resilient Intelligence in an Era of Democratic Backsliding”, to be held on 2 and 3 December 2026 in The Netherlands.
Call for Contributions
NISA International Conference 2026
Resilient Intelligence
in an Era of Democratic Backsliding
2–3 December 2026 | The Netherlands
Location to be announced
With authoritarianism on the rise, democratic societies face mounting pressures on their security, governance, and institutional integrity. Intelligence and security services play a crucial—yet contested—role in safeguarding democracy and the rule of law. This conference explores how intelligence and security services can remain resilient, independent, and legitimate within a democratic framework.
We welcome contributions that critically examine the role, functioning, and governance of intelligence and security services in this context of democratic backsliding, from both an historical and a contemporary perspective, from several disciplines, and from practitioners and scholars. Relevant themes include, but are not limited to:
- Intelligence and democratic resilience
- Intelligence cooperation and information sharing across national contexts with varying levels of democracy
- Politicization and political independence of intelligence
- Democratization of intelligence
- Political and societal legitimacy
- Accountability and oversight
- Intelligence in times of geopolitical uncertainty
- Intelligence responses to hybrid threats and authoritarian influence
- Normative, legal, and ethical dimensions of intelligence work in an increasingly authoritarian world order.
Participants are invited to submit proposals for one of the following formats:
- Academic paper with an accompanying presentation. Selected academic papers may be considered for publication in a special issue of a leading international peer-reviewed journal.
- Academic presentation without a paper
- Practitioner presentation
- Panel discussion with a maximum of three experts or practitioners
- Interviews
The organizing committee explicitly encourages participation from academics at all career stages, including PhD candidates and early-career researchers, as well as practitioners from intelligence, security, policy, businesses and related fields.
Submission Guidelines
Interested participants are invited to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words, clearly indicating the preferred contribution format. Academic papers should include a research question, a research methodology, and their relation to the academic literature. Submissions should be sent to: conf2026@nisa-intelligence.nl. Due date for the proposals is the 1th of april.
We look forward to welcoming a diverse and interdisciplinary group of contributors to engage in a discussion on the future of intelligence in resilient democracies.
Organizing committee
Dr. Rowin Jansen (Chairman; Radboud University, the Netherlands)
Jip Boer MA (Radboud University, the Netherlands)
Dr. Eleni Braat (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
Dr. Sophie Harleman (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)
Dr. Constant Hijzen (General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands)
Tess Horlings MA (Netherlands Defence Academy)
Dr. Bram Spoor (Netherlands Defence Academy)
