LIST OF WORKSHOPS

Context and Motivation
Regulatory governance has become an increasingly prominent concept that has organized an interdisciplinary field of study within the social sciences. This field of study has centered attention on the, at times, contradictory forces of neoliberal globalization as they relate to the forms, dynamics and functions of regulation that operate in the context of larger national, regional, and international governance architectures. For instance, regulatory governance scholarship has examined how the forces of neoliberal globalisation, on the one hand, are thought to lead states to reduce their interventions in markets, opting for the role of steering, while leaving the private sector to row. States, in this respect, are thought to be undertaking actions of deregulation and privatization. Yet, on the other hand, neoliberal globalization has created the conditions for even more rules, designed to facilitate the functioning of global markets, leading to the concept of regulatory capitalism, or to contest over the functioning of these markets, leading to various and competing forms of private regulatory governance. The field of regulatory governance has advanced our understanding of these contradictions and their results, as well as building new conceptual foundations for sustained attention to the operation and consequences of regulation as a contested instrument of social control.  

The journal Regulation & Governance, for the past two decades, has been central to advancing scholarship focused specifically on the intersecting dynamics of regulatory instruments and processes and governance more generally. What advances has this collective project brought about? What conceptual innovations, empirical findings, and theoretical advances has this sustained body of work generated? And, more importantly, what does it tell us about the future of regulatory governance, in our current moment of polycrisis? 

The proposed workshop will invite papers that broadly contribute to answering these questions by looking back at the developing field of regulatory governance and projecting forward our current understandings to make sense of the turbulent moment we are in. We welcome papers that take any of the following formats: 

(1) Conceptual or theoretical papers that seek to integrate existing knowledge and propose agendas for further research. Such papers can take stock of various themes, theories, and concepts that have received sustained attention in the field of regulatory governance. Examples include regulatory growth and complexity, the regulatory state, or regulatory intermediaries.

(2) Focused empirical papers that examine past, current or future regulatory governance dynamics or challenges. Such papers can focus on specific jurisdictions, forms of regulation, sectors or issue areas. Examples include environmental policies in European countries or China or privatisation in Latin America. 

Papers that are presented at the workshop will have the opportunity to be considered as part of the 20th anniversary special issue of the journal Regulation & Governance that will be published in 2027. Selected papers will need to be revised and submitted to the journal by August 31, 2026, and they will undergo the normal peer review process for original articles. Thus, being invited to submit will be no guarantee that a paper will end up as part of the final special issue. 

Agenda
The workshop will be structured around subthemes based on the papers that are submitted and selected for attendance. These themes will in large part be divided by those papers that are looking at what we have learned and those that are seeking to understand the current moment or future of regulatory governance.  Each set of papers will include a discussant and a rapporteur, the latter of which will play a role in the final session of the workshop. In the final session, we will draw out main themes, using the key notes and reflections from each session's rapporteurs. This will also serve as a mechanism for establishing key themes and issues that may require general attention by each of the papers to be included in the 20th anniversary special issue.

The journal Regulation & Governance, for the past two decades, has been central to advancing scholarship focused specifically on the intersecting dynamics of regulatory instruments and processes and governance more generally. What advances has this collective project brought about? What conceptual innovations, empirical findings, and theoretical advances has this sustained body of work generated? And, more importantly, what does it tell us about the future of regulatory governance, in our current moment of polycrisis? 

The proposed workshop invites papers that broadly contribute to answering these questions by looking back at the developing field of regulatory governance and projecting forward our current understandings to make sense of the turbulent moment we are in. We welcome papers that take any of the following formats: 

Conceptual or theoretical papers that seek to integrate existing knowledge and propose agendas for further research. Such papers can take stock of various themes, theories, and concepts that have received sustained attention in the field of regulatory governance. Examples include regulatory growth and complexity, the regulatory state, or regulatory intermediaries.

Focused empirical papers that examine past, current or future regulatory governance dynamics or challenges. Such papers can focus on specific jurisdictions, forms of regulation, sectors or issue areas. Examples include environmental policies in European countries or China or privatisation in Latin America. 

Papers that are presented at the workshop will have the opportunity to be considered as part of the 20th anniversary special issue of the journal Regulation & Governance that will be published in 2027. Selected papers will need to be revised and submitted to the journal by August 31, 2026, and they will undergo the normal peer review process for original articles. Thus, being invited to submit will be no guarantee that a paper will end up as part of the final special issue.

Regulatory governance has become an increasingly prominent concept that has organized an interdisciplinary field of study within the social sciences. This field of study has centered attention on the, at times, contradictory forces of neoliberal globalization (both supporting and undermining rule-based governance) as they relate to the forms, dynamics and functions of regulation that operate in the context of larger national, regional, and international governance architectures. The field of regulatory governance has advanced our understanding of these contradictions and their results, as well as building new conceptual foundations for sustained attention to the operation and consequences of regulation as a contested instrument of social control.  The journal Regulation & Governance, for the past two decades, has been central to advancing scholarship focused specifically on the intersecting dynamics of regulatory instruments and processes and governance more generally. What advances has this collective project brought about? What conceptual innovations, empirical findings, and theoretical advances has this sustained body of work generated? And, more importantly, what does it tell us about the future of regulatory governance, in our current moment of polycrisis? This workshop will invite papers that speak to these questions to consolidate knowledge from this field of study and set the agenda for research and practice in coming decades.

Graeme Auld is a Professor in Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, with a cross appointment in Carleton’s Institute of Political Economy. He has broad interests in comparative environmental politics and global environmental governance, with a particular focus on the emergence, evolution, and impacts of transnational private governance regimes and the contentious politics surrounding and underpinning these developments. Recent work focuses on the role of private auditors in public and private regulatory processes, including in emerging AI governance. His solo-authored book, Constructing Private Governance: The Rise and Evolution of Forest, Coffee, and Fisheries Certification (Yale University Press, 2014) was the co-winner of the 2016 Lynton Keith Caldwell Prize from the American Political Science Association for the best book on environmental politics and policy.

Dr. Yves Steinebach is a Professor at the University of Oslo. His research is located at the intersection of public policy and public administration research. It focuses on the effectiveness of public policies and governing institutions at both the national and the international levels. Yves co-authored "Policy Accumulation and the Democratic Responsiveness Trap" and "A Matter of Style? Organizational Agency in Global Public Policy" (Cambridge University Press). In addition, he published in renowned international journals such as American Political Science Review, Political Analysis, Regulation & Governance, Governance, and Climate Policy. In 2018, he was awarded the Best Paper Awards by the Journal of European Public Policy (JEPP) and Policy Sciences. Yves is Principal Investigator in the research project on "Regulating the Circular Economy and Plastics in the OECD World" (REGCIRC) financed by the German-Israeli-Foundation. 

Professor Alketa Peci is current Head of the Professional Master's in Public Administration (MAP) . Her research interests relate with the study of bureaucracy and its major transformations, focusing on autonomous bureaucracies as Independent Regulatory Agencies (IRAs)  and Audit Offices; on bureaucratic representation; public-private/nonprofit partnerships, and the adoption of better regulation reforms. Currently, she is working on following research projects: drivers of decision-making in autonomous bureaucratic institutions; regulators professional careers paths; bureaucratic reputation and representation effects on policy audiences; media reputation as a strategic resource for public agencies; the role of intangible resources on public-nonprofit performance; bureaucratic careers, networking and collaboration; administrative burdens and policy learning. 

Ning Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at the City University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on environmental regulation, government-business relations, smart government, and AI governance. She has published in leading journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Public Administration Review, and Policy Studies Journal. Her work is funded by major funding bodies, including the NSFC and HKRGC. She also chairs the membership committee of the PNP division at the Academy of Management.