CALL FOR PAPERS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS HEDGING STRATEGIES OF ASEAN COUNTRIES

Against the backdrop of intensifying major-power competition and a rapidly changing and increasingly complex international environment, Southeast Asian countries face the challenge of maintaining and expanding cooperation with important partners while safeguarding national interests and preserving autonomy in foreign policy. Rather than aligning fully with one side, many ASEAN countries have adopted flexible approaches that combine cooperation, diversification of relations, risk dispersion, and the protection of their strategic interests.

However, hedging does not follow a single common pattern. Each member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) selects and combines different measures depending on its geostrategic position, degree of economic interdependence, security concerns, domestic political conditions, foreign-policy traditions, and leadership perceptions. These differences affect not only each country’s ability to maintain strategic autonomy, but also ASEAN cohesion, ASEAN centrality, and the broader regional order. These issues are at the core of a research project implemented by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, with support from the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Southeast Asia.

Within the framework of the project “Comparative Hedging Strategies within ASEAN: Variation, Drivers, and Implications,” the Institute for Policy, Innovation and Interdisciplinary Studies (IPIIS), University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, plans to organize an international scientific conference in Hanoi in mid-October 2026.

The Organizing Committee cordially invites scholars, experts, lecturers, doctoral candidates, and graduate students to submit papers to the Conference. Papers that meet the academic requirements and are accepted following peer review will be published in the Conference Proceedings with an ISBN.

1. Suggested thematic areas

Submissions may approach the subject from a range of perspectives, including theoretical, comparative, case-study, or policy-analysis approaches, with a focus on, but not limited to, the following themes:

1.Changes in the regional and international environment: Analysis of shifts in the regional and global order; relations among major powers; trends toward fragmentation in the economy, technology, and supply chains; traditional and non-traditional security challenges; and the implications of these changes for Southeast Asia and ASEAN.

2. Foreign policy and adaptability of ASEAN countries: Focus on how ASEAN countries adjust their foreign policies in response to changes in the international environment; diversify external relations, preserve policy autonomy, safeguard national interests, and strengthen adaptability. Papers may also discuss hedging, strategic autonomy, and related foreign-policy approaches.
3. Factors shaping the foreign-policy choices of Southeast Asian countries: Analysis of how geostrategic position, economic and trade relations, national capabilities, institutions and domestic politics, leadership perceptions, history, identity, and foreign-policy traditions influence the formation and adjustment of ASEAN countries’ foreign policies.
4. ASEAN, regional cooperation, and multilateral mechanisms: Research on ASEAN cohesion and centrality; the effectiveness of regional cooperation mechanisms; ASEAN’s relations with its partners; and the role of multilateral institutions in maintaining stability, promoting cooperation, and addressing common regional challenges.
5. Emerging issues in international relations and regional cooperation: Papers may focus on economic security, supply chains, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, energy, climate change, maritime security, regional connectivity, sustainable development, and transnational issues that are increasingly shaping foreign policy and cooperation in Southeast Asia.
6. Vietnam in the new regional and international context: Analysis of Vietnam’s foreign policy and international integration; the multilateralization and diversification of relations; strategic autonomy and Vietnam’s role in ASEAN; experiences from other countries that may provide useful lessons for Vietnam; and proposals to enhance adaptability and the effectiveness of policy formulation in the coming period.

The Organizing Committee particularly encourages papers with a clear theoretical foundation, supported by appropriate sources and evidence, that adopt a comparative approach or offer practical policy implications for Vietnam and ASEAN. Priority will be given to papers that closely integrate empirical analysis with academic discussion and contribute to expanding dialogue among scholars in the region and internationally.

2. Submission deadlines and process

Abstract

Authors should submit abstracts in both Vietnamese and English, approximately 250–300 words in length, together with the following information: paper title, author’s full name, institutional affiliation, telephone number, contact email address, and 3–5 keywords.

Abstract submission deadline: before 15 September 2026

Notification of results

The Organizing Committee will notify authors of abstract acceptance before 20 September 2026.

Full paper

Authors whose abstracts are accepted should submit their full papers before 10 October 2026.

Detailed requirements regarding paper length, formatting, and citation style will be provided together with the abstract acceptance notification.

3. Peer review and publication

Papers submitted for inclusion in the Proceedings will be peer-reviewed and edited in accordance with the Organizing Committee’s regulations. Papers that meet the requirements for academic content and presentation will be considered for publication in the Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference with an ISBN.

Publication fee:

-VND 2,000,000 per paper for authors who are not affiliated with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi;

-VND 1,500,000 per paper for staff members, lecturers, doctoral candidates, and graduate students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

4. Conference information

Conference title: Comparative Hedging Strategies within ASEAN: Variation, Drivers, and Implications

Time: Mid-October 2026

Venue: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 336 Nguyen Trai Street, Hanoi

Organizer: Institute for Policy, Innovation and Interdisciplinary Studies (IPIIS), University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Within the framework of a collaborative project with: Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Southeast Asia (RLS SEA)

Sincerely,

Conference Organizing Committee