OKN "Union and Secession, Incorporation and Homage across the Ages"

The Scientific Circle of History Students and PhD Candidates at UKSW invites participation in the nationwide scientific conference titled: “Ad unionem velut membrum corpori Regni” IMT 3, 300, 49. Union and Secession, Incorporation and Homage across the Ages.

Since the earliest times, actors in international relations, regardless of continent or region, have based their relations on processes of joining or dividing into particular communities with political, economic and social characteristics.

Terms indicated in the conference title such as union, secession, incorporation or homage are symbols of different forms of organization of states, nations and other participants in international relations, which sometimes reveal the political goals of particular rulers or leaders. They indicated where the limits of sovereignty, independence or freedom lay in relations between actors, as well as subservience, servility or subordination.

Throughout history there have often been breakthrough events related to integrative and disintegrative processes (autonomy, liquidation). The phenomenon of homage frequently led to the definition of a new position of an organization and the construction of a new international order.

The conference aims to reflect on all manifestations of changes in the concepts of international relations and systems based on relations between states (homages, unions, secessions, incorporations) using selected examples.

The conference organized by our Circle will take place on 20–21 April 2026 in-person at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (Wóycicki campus).

We encourage delivering a short presentation (15–20 minutes) on a chosen topic, for example:

• the phenomenon of personal and real unions, state connections and their heritage
• uprisings, rebellions and mechanisms leading to secession and their socio-political consequences
• mechanisms, legitimization and social reception of the incorporation of lands and societies
• the phenomenon of homage as a tool of politics
• policies of rulers and leaders in establishing international relations
• territorial and population changes across the ages
• economic and financial transformations across the ages

Submissions with abstracts are accepted until 28 November 2025 at: kolohistoria.uksw@gmail.com

EDIT: WE EXTEND THE ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE TO 12 DECEMBER 2025.

The submission should include:

• presenter’s first and last name
• affiliation and, if applicable, year of study
• an abstract of no more than 2000 characters
• basic bibliography (min. 1 source and 5–10 studies)

Notification of acceptance will be sent by e-mail by the end of December 2025. The list of presenters and the conference schedule will be announced and sent to participants by e-mail in January 2026.

The conference fee is 50 PLN for presenters. Participation for external listeners is entirely free.

The Conference Organizing Committee reserves the right to select submitted abstracts.

The conference is nationwide and interdisciplinary; students, PhD candidates and young researchers are welcome not only from history but also from other disciplines.

A collective monograph on a topic similar to the conference is planned. Independently of the proceedings, please send finished scholarly articles to publikacja.knsidh@gmail.com by 1 March 2026. Below we present the publication guidelines. We particularly encourage preparing texts in English.

We warmly encourage you to participate in our event.