With the participation of academic leaders and local and national authorities, it is presented as a key space for reflecting on the role of the State, civil society, and political science in building collective solutions.
From July 23 to 26, the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario It is the setting for the XVII National Congress of Political Science, which is held under the motto “Democratic resilience in times of global threats.”
The event, organized by the Argentine Society of Political Analysis (SAAP) and the UNR, offers a space for reflection on the current challenges facing democracy and the strategies needed to preserve and strengthen it. The focus is on the role of the State, civil society, international organizations, and non-state actors in building collective responses to contemporary threats.
This edition features more than 1200 exhibitors from Argentine and international universities—including institutions from the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia—as well as representatives from the executive and legislative branches at various levels: local, provincial, and national.
Over the course of four days, the event will feature keynote sessions, symposia, special panels, roundtables, student activities, book presentations, book fairs, and a variety of academic offerings.
Franco Bartolacci, rector of the University of Barcelona, was present at the opening ceremony of the Congress. Universidad Nacional de RosarioPablo Javkin, mayor of Rosario; María Eugenia Schmuck, president of the Rosario City Council; Cintia Pinillos, dean of the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations; and Gustavo Dufour, president of the Argentine Society of Political Analysis (SAAP).
“We are at a university, in a city, and in a province that has many political scientists in important roles and responsibilities. It is an honor for us to host you once again. I want to thank Gustavo, and on your behalf, the entire SAAP, for choosing us once again to host the Congress. We love that our university is a platform where we can meet to reflect on what is happening to us collectively,” explained Rector Bartolacci, adding: “This Congress is a space where we can spread the word, something that should be so reasonable and normal, and that today seems so countercultural in a time where everything seems to be discussed and debated in shouting matches, where grievances always seem to prevail. This is a meeting to debate different positions, to discuss nuances, but always with respect.”
Furthermore, Bartolacci emphasized that a large part of the problems we face as a society is the lack of an accurate diagnosis of the current situation, and this often leads to incorrect decisions. “I believe that this debate, this exchange of ideas, must serve to contribute to this diagnosis that is needed. It must also be an environment that provides creativity, allowing us to think of new responses to old and new problems. Today's world faces us with challenges from a completely different perspective, and we often continue to try to respond to them with institutions that were conceived and built 200 or 300 years ago. Naturally, this is insufficient. That is why we hope that this Congress will be, as always, a space that allows us to delve into a rigorous examination, where we can support our positions with solid arguments, at a time when everything tends to be discussed superficially, without much foundation. We are also challenged by the challenge of how to convey this complexity of thought in a way that is up to par with the current public debate, both in Argentina and around the world.”
Finally, Bartolacci addressed the current state of the university system and stated that this congress is in itself a defense and vindication of it. “The best defense of the public university is not only one that raises its voice whenever necessary, nor one that shouts when necessary, but one that acts with intelligence and a transformative vision. This is not a condescending defense of the national university system. We are convinced that, for the university to fully fulfill its mission, it needs to be rethought in many aspects, including remaking it from an academic, pedagogical, and curricular perspective. We perhaps need a kind of second university reform. We want the university to become a more effective tool in serving the great challenge of our time: building a society based on coexistence and collective development. I know what these types of congresses generate, and I have no doubt that they will contribute greatly in that direction.”
In his speech, Mayor Pablo Javkin highlighted the importance of political science and the social sciences in general, in a context where "the social sciences, research in general, and the very meaning of public universities are being questioned, not only in terms of funding, but also in terms of their purpose." He recalled that during the previous congress, he had already raised an idea that he still considers relevant: while the world was able to develop vaccines against COVID-19 in record time, in less than a year, it has not yet been able to guarantee an equitable distribution of these advances. "It was never able, and still is not, to organize the distribution of these vaccines, to ensure equal access to medicines, and to ensure that this scientific progress translates into coexistence, and not conflict," he emphasized.
Javkin also questioned an excessively biological view of social phenomena. "It's part of the same discussion: believing that biology can explain everything in isolation without taking other disciplines into account." In this sense, he asserted the role of political science and democracy as fundamental channels for social organization, although he noted with concern that there are more autocratic governments in the world today than democratic ones, something that hasn't happened for decades.
María Eugenia Schmuck emphasized that "if there's one thing that characterizes the social sciences, it's precisely their vocation to question what hurts, what doesn't work, what should be different." She took the opportunity to deeply vindicate the work of those who research, think, write, teach, and build academic communities. "This is a beautiful space to defend it. Researching, thinking, writing, teaching, building academic communities, exchanging between disciplines—all of this is also political activity in a very profound sense," she affirmed.
The president of the City Council warned that there are those today who insist on delegitimizing the production of knowledge because "it's annoying, because thinking makes us uncomfortable." Therefore, she emphasized the need for "more critical thinking, not less, more voices that question, that analyze, that make us uncomfortable if necessary," to strengthen a plural democracy that is aware of its challenges.
“For more than three decades, SAAP conferences have held a central place in our discipline, contributing both to the training of professionals and to the construction of knowledge. Once again, the SAAP Conference returns to Rosario to foster a key academic gathering, aimed at generating contributions to address the complex challenges of the global arena. There is a long-standing commitment between SAAP and the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations that has historically facilitated joint work and the organization of events of this magnitude. Deciding to hold this conference in our home is also a declaration of principles: reaffirming that only through more public education and more national science can we have real tools to find solutions to the problems we face,” said Cintia Pinillos, Dean of the Faculty.
In his turn, Gustavo Dufour argued that we must not lose sight of the fact that the current role of political scientists is to critically reflect on society and find answers to the complex problems we face. “It is increasingly important to promote dialogue with others, generating synergies that recognize no borders. In recent decades, our role in society has changed, opening up new opportunities for collaborations with colleagues and organizations from other countries,” he added: “For the third time, the UNR welcomes us warmly. The first time was in 2003 and the second time was in 2021, the first time since the pandemic. Today we are reuniting, and we do so again in a difficult national context, with a total lack of support from the national government for public education and science, and with strong criticism from the social sciences. We are very happy and excited to meet again, as we have been doing for 30 years.”
The National Congress of Political Science was recognized with a municipal recognition award from the Rosario City Council for its academic and social contribution to the city. It also received a declaration of interest from the Chamber of Deputies of the Province of Santa Fe, which highlights the event's importance for the development of political thought and the training of professionals in the region.
Among the invited specialists are leading figures in the field such as Ernesto Calvo (University of Maryland), Oscar Oszlak (CEDES), Catalina Smulovitz (UTDT), Flavia Freidenberg (UNAM), Yanina Welp (Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy), Andrés Malamud (University of Lisbon), María Inés Tula and Miguel De Luca (UBA), Analía Verónica Orr (UNPSJB), Juan Manuel Abal Medina (UBA), Marcelo Mella (USACH), Daniel Buquet (UdelaR), Martín D'Alessandro, María Celeste Ratto (CONICET), Marcelo Cavarozzi, Juan Tokatlian (UTDT), María Laura Tagina (UNSAM) and Mario Riorda (UCC), among others.
This Wednesday, Catalina Smulovitz will offer the lecture "Judicialization of Conflicts in Times of Polarization"; on Thursday, the panel "Dilemmas of World Politics: Order, Geopolitics, and Hegemony" will feature Juan Tokatlian, Anabella Busso, and Luis Schenoni; and on Friday, the plenary session "The Political-Electoral Scenario in Argentina: Prospective Analysis of the 2025 National Legislative Elections" will be presented by Juan Manuel Abal Medina, María Laura Tagina, Miguel De Luca, María de Lourdes Lodi, and Mario Riorda.
The full conference program can be found here: https://congreso17.saap.org.ar/
Journalist: Gonzalo J. García / Photography: Courtesy of the Communications Secretariat of the Faculty of Political Science.