September 30, 2026 Scientific Conference “Climate, Society, and Power in Africa.”
THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES
|
30/1 ул. Спиридоновка, Москва, 123001 |
|
30/1 Spiridonovka str., Moscow, 123001 |
CENTER FOR SOCIOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL STUDIES
ASIA AND AFRICA TODAY JOURNAL
Scientific Conference
September 30, 2026
CLIMATE, SOCIETY, AND POWER IN AFRICA
Conference Notice
On September 30, 2026, the Center for Sociological and Political Sciences Studies of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, jointly with the journal Asia and Africa Today, will hold a research conference entitled “Climate, Society, and Power in Africa.”
Contemporary Africa is increasingly at the center of global debates on climate change, sustainable development, resource security, and political resilience. The climate factor can no longer be regarded solely as an environmental issue: it has a direct impact on socio-economic dynamics, the quality of governance, migration processes, food security, conflicts over land and water, the transformation of traditional forms of economic activity, and relations among the state, society, and external actors.
For African countries, the consequences of climate change are particularly complex and contradictory. On the one hand, the continent bears comparatively limited responsibility for accumulated global greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, many African societies are among the most vulnerable to droughts, desertification, floods, soil degradation, shifts in precipitation patterns, and the growing frequency of extreme weather events. These processes affect not only agriculture and infrastructure, but also social relations, political legitimacy, state institutions, local systems of governance, and everyday survival strategies.
Climate change has a significant impact on the economies of African countries, many of which depend heavily on agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. According to expert assessments, this dependence may not only persist but also increase in the future. Declining precipitation and more frequent extreme weather events may negatively affect food security, while ocean warming may alter the spatial structure of fisheries and reduce catches in coastal areas. These processes have not only economic but also socio-political implications, as they affect employment, migration, the resilience of local communities, resource distribution, and relations between populations and public authorities. At the same time, African countries continue to face a contradiction between the need to expand energy consumption as a condition for economic growth and the risks of further environmental degradation if dependence on traditional energy sources remains high.
Climate-related challenges in Africa do not arise in isolation; they interact with existing problems such as poverty, demographic growth, social inequality, weak state institutions, dependence on raw material exports, debt burdens, armed conflicts, competition over natural resources, and the effects of external political rivalry. Under these conditions, climate change is becoming an important factor in socio-political transformation.
Of particular importance is the question of how African states, regional organizations, local communities, social movements, and international partners respond to climate threats. The issue is not limited to technical adaptation measures; it also concerns a broader set of political decisions, including resource redistribution, changes in development models, the formation of climate policy, conflict management, the protection of vulnerable groups, the development of green energy, and the provision of food and water security.
The aim of the conference is to examine climate change as a complex socio-political challenge for African countries; to identify the links between environmental processes, social transformations, economic vulnerability, and practices of power; and to determine how the climate agenda affects the development of African states, their internal resilience, and their position in the system of international relations.
The discussion will focus on the following questions: How does climate change affect the social structures and political institutions of African countries? To what extent does the climate factor intensify or transform existing conflicts? How is the role of the state changing under conditions of environmental instability? What adaptation strategies are being developed by local communities? How is the climate agenda used by domestic and external political actors? Can the green transformation become a resource for Africa’s development, or does it reproduce new forms of dependence and inequality?
The conference will focus primarily on the social and political dimensions of the climate agenda. Economic issues are welcome insofar as they reveal the impact of climate change on social processes, institutions of power, security, inequality, and development strategies.
The following topics are proposed for discussion:
• climate change and the socio-political development of African states;
• the climate factor within the system of security challenges: conflicts over land, water, pastures, and other natural resources;
• climate change, migration processes, and the transformation of local communities;
• food, water, energy, and resource security as factors of social resilience, political governance, and conflict dynamics in African countries;
• climate policy in African states: institutions, strategies, limitations, and outcomes;
• the role of the state, traditional power structures, and local self-government in adaptation to climate change;
• climate, social inequality, and the situation of vulnerable groups;
• environmental crises, social movements, and forms of civic mobilization;
• the climate agenda of the African Union, regional organizations, and Agendas 2030 and 2063;
• international cooperation, climate finance, and the issue of climate justice;
• energy transition, climate policy, and the socio-political consequences of green transformation in African countries;
• external actors and climate policy in Africa: partnership, competition, and dependence;
• climate change in public discourse, the media, and political rhetoric in African countries.
Papers on other related topics corresponding to the general theme of the conference are also welcome.
Scholars, university lecturers, postgraduate students, students, and specialists working on the socio-political, environmental, economic, and international development of Africa are invited to participate in the conference.
The working languages of the conference are Russian and English.
The conference will be held in a hybrid format: in person at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 30/1 Spiridonovka Street, Moscow, and online.
The time limit for presentations is 10 minutes.
Applications for participation should be sent by September 9, 2026, to Sergey V. Kostelyanets at the following address: skostelyanec@inafr.ru.
The application should include the following information: full name of the presenter, affiliation, position, academic title, academic degree, presentation title, abstract of 200–300 words, contact telephone number, e-mail address, and form of participation in the conference (in person or online). Abstracts should be prepared in Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing; footnotes should be placed at the end of the text.
In selecting applications, preference will be given to presentations in which climate and environmental issues are examined in the context of social, political, institutional, and governance processes in African countries.
Conference abstracts are planned to be published electronically on the website of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Following the conference, a scholarly publication is planned. The organizers reserve the right to select papers for publication in the resulting volume, provided that they correspond to its scholarly concept, thematic scope, and editorial requirements.
Individual papers of particular scholarly interest may also be recommended for consideration by the editorial board of Asia and Africa Today in accordance with the journal’s established procedures.
