Comparative Politics and Legal Frameworks in Policy Development

Background

As part of the 5th International Conference on International Law and Legal Policy (ICILLP 2026), this symposium will discuss interdisciplinary perspectives on comparative politics and legal frameworks. Comparative politics has become increasingly important in understanding how legal institutions influence public policy across different political systems. Governments worldwide are confronted with complex policy challenges arising from globalisation, technological transformation, democratic transitions, climate change, migration, economic inequality and evolving international legal obligations. While countries often face similar governance challenges, they adopt diverse legal frameworks and institutional measures shaped by constitutional traditions, political cultures, judicial systems and administrative capacities.

Comparative analysis enables scholars and policymakers to identify both effective legal innovations and institutional limitations by examining experiences across jurisdictions. At the same time, international law and international governance gradually interact with domestic legal systems, creating opportunities as well as tensions in policy formulation and implementation. Understanding these interactions is necessary for developing evidence-based, adaptable and legally sustainable public policies in rapidly changing political environments.

Goal/Rationale

This symposium seeks to advance interdisciplinary discourse on the relationship between comparative politics and legal frameworks in shaping public policy. It aims to explore how constitutional structures, legislative processes, judicial and legislative oversight, regulatory institutions and international legal norms influence policy development across diverse political contexts. The symposium recognises that effective policy design requires not only sound political decision-making but also robust institutions capable of ensuring accountability, transparency and protection of fundamental rights.

Participants are invited to examine both theoretical and practical dimensions of comparative legal and political analysis, including how different governance models respond to contemporary policy challenges. Particular attention will be given to comparative institutional reforms, rule of law, democratic governance, public administration, regulatory innovation, human rights protection, digital governance, environmental regulation, economic development and cross-border legal cooperation.

By bringing together scholars, practitioners, policymakers and legal professionals from multiple disciplines and jurisdictions, the symposium aims to generate comparative insights that contribute to more resilient, inclusive and evidence-informed policy frameworks. It also seeks to strengthen international academic collaboration and encourage innovative research that bridges political science, law and public policy.

Scope

The symposium welcomes original theoretical, empirical, comparative and interdisciplinary research addressing the interaction between political institutions, legal systems and policy development. Contributions may focus on national, regional or international perspectives and adopt qualitative, quantitative, doctrinal or mixed-method approaches.

Illustrative themes include, but are not limited to:

• Comparative constitutional law and public policy
• Rule of law and democratic accountability
• Judicial review and policymaking
• Human rights and constitutional governance

• Comparative political institutions and governance
• Legislative processes and policy reform
• Comparative public administration
• Public sector innovation and institutional reform
• Federalism, decentralisation and local governance

• Administrative law and regulatory governance
• Anti-corruption frameworks and institutional integrity
• Economic regulation and development policy

• Digital governance, artificial intelligence and legal regulation
• International law and domestic policy implementation
• Environmental governance and climate policy
• Migration, citizenship and comparative legal responses
• Global governance and international cooperation
• Emerging challenges in comparative politics and legal policy

Publication

Accepted papers of the symposium will be published in Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media (Print ISSN 2753-7048), and will be submitted to Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI), Crossref, CNKI, Portico, Google Scholar and other databases for indexing. The situation may be affected by factors among databases like processing time, workflow, policy, etc.

The papers will be exported to production and publication on a regular basis. Early-registered papers are expected to be published online earlier.

This symposium is organized by ICILLP 2026 and it will independently proceed the submission and publication process