Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.
Just tap then “Add to Home Screen”
Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.
Just tap then “Add to Home Screen”
The Biennial Conference of our Standing Group on Regulatory Governance is Europe's leading interdisciplinary gathering on regulation and regulatory governance. It offers an opportunity to present ongoing research, receive valuable feedback, connect with fellow scholars, and explore cutting-edge research in the field.
The 2025 Conference theme, 'Beyond the Regulatory State?' invites an examination of how regulatory systems are adapting to global challenges. It focuses on their evolving structures, instruments, and legitimacy amid shifting political, economic, and technological landscapes.
In addition to the roundtables, keynote lectures and exciting networking opportunities, the conference highlights include ceremonies for:
Stay tuned: Subscribe to our Events mailing list via My ECPR
Questions? Contact our Events Team
The conference is proudly hosted by the Hertie School in Berlin. The School prepares exceptional students for leadership positions in government, business, and civil society. It offers master’s programmes, executive education and doctoral programmes, distinguished by interdisciplinary and practice-oriented teaching, as well as outstanding research.
The School's extensive international network positions it as an ambassador of good governance, characterised by public debate and engagement. The school was founded in 2003 by the Hertie Foundation, which remains its major funder. The Hertie School is accredited by the state and the German Science Council.
Fees include a welcome reception, lunches, coffee breaks, and a gala dinner. Transportation and accommodation are not included.
A limited fund has been set aside to support scholars without other means of financing their attendance. Priority will be given to applicants from low or middle-income countries.
Funding applications open on 12 March 2025. If you applied for funding, please do not register until you have heard about the outcome of your application.
The conference theme, 'Beyond the Regulatory State?', highlights the fundamental questions posed by changing political, economic, technological and environmental landscapes.
The acceptance and performance of regulatory states, which have emerged as international phenomena, are increasingly under scrutiny.
First, there are fundamental questions about the suitability of the ‘machinery’ of the regulatory state, especially its reliance on autonomous regulatory agencies. Second, questions arise on the instruments of the regulatory state—whether incentive-based or principles-based approaches—and their relevance in addressing contemporary challenges. Finally, in addition to concerns about the problem-solving capacity of the regulatory state, questions of legitimacy resist: to what extent are its institutions accepted by societal actors?
Regulatory scholarship has responded to these developments by exploring the political role of (regulatory) agencies, for instance through studies on reputational strategies, legitimacy or accountability. However, it could be argued that scholarship has not yet caught up with the fundamental changes already underway. This may be partly because scholarship has not yet developed the conceptual tools to identify these changes, nor has it fully captured the dynamics of a 'post-regulatory' state.
The 2025 Conference explores the development of the (post) regulatory state. This includes discussions on the role of technology (e.g., artificial intelligence) in regulation, the changing geopolitical landscape and the transformation of the institutional architecture and practices in diverse policy areas. Berlin serves as an ideal backdrop to examine the regulatory dimension of a 'Zeitenwende'.
We invite Panels and Papers from across the social sciences on any aspect of regulation and regulatory studies. Submissions may explore comparative themes that involve both the Global North and Global South.
Our goal is to promote high-quality, rigorous research regardless of methodological approach. Papers can be theoretical-conceptual or empirical, descriptive or explanatory, but they should have a clear conceptual and theoretical basis and meet appropriate methodological standards.
As well as proposals on regulation in general or within specific sectors, we welcome submissions on:
In addition to these themes, we encourage proposals that focus on the interplay between regulation and crisis governance, such as how regulation is affected by crises or might be seen as contributing to crises, such as health emergencies, energy, international security, climate change and biodiversity loss, or political polarisation.
We are also interested in proposals dealing with wicked issues and societal challenges as well as regulation, innovation and disruptive technologies, such as the regulation of and by AI, platform industries, cybersecurity or autonomous systems, such as robotics.
Submission deadline
Registration opens
Registration deadline