Gathering the Architects of a Decentralized World
The New Hampshire Institute of Libertarian Sciences is pleased to issue the Call for Proposals for our seventh annual academic conference, to be held in the autumn of 2024. This year's theme, "From Monopoly to Mosaic: Strategies for Secession and the Rise of Polycentric Law," reflects a strategic pivot in libertarian thought. While philosophical critique remains vital, the pressing question of our time is how to move from the current world of monopolistic nation-states to a future of fluid, overlapping, and competitive jurisdictions. We seek proposals that move beyond theory to explore concrete, actionable plans for political secession, legal innovation, and the building of parallel institutions that can make state power irrelevant. This conference aims to be a working summit for the builders of the next society.
Conference Tracks and Suggested Topics
We invite submissions from academics, lawyers, technologists, entrepreneurs, and community organizers. Proposals should fit into one of the following tracks:
Track 1: Secession and Exit Strategies. This track focuses on the mechanics of political decentralization. How can regions, cities, or communities legally and peacefully secede from larger states? Topics may include: Legal theories of self-determination and constitutional secession clauses; Historical case studies of successful and failed secession movements; The economics of independence (currency, trade, public debt apportionment); Non-violent resistance tactics for secessionist campaigns; The role of technology in enabling exit (e.g., seasteading, space settlement, special economic zones); Building coalitions for secession that transcend traditional left-right divides.
Track 2: Designing Polycentric Legal Systems. This track is for the institutional designers. If the state's legal monopoly is broken, what replaces it? Topics may include: Technical specifications for interoperable private legal codes; Dispute resolution protocols for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs); The role of blockchain and smart contracts in creating verifiable legal records; Reputation and bonding mechanisms for private security and arbitration agencies; Transitional frameworks for migrating from state law to polycentric law; Case studies of non-state legal systems in operation today (e.g., online dispute resolution, merchant law in specific industries).
Track 3: Building Parallel Institutions (The Agorist Track). This track is for practitioners creating the "counter-economy" here and now. Topics may include: Successful models for mutual aid networks, private schooling co-ops, and community defense associations; Business models that outcompete state-monopolized services (private roads, arbitration, notary services); Technologies for financial and communication privacy that enable agorist activity; Strategies for dealing with state harassment and regulatory capture; Metrics for measuring the growth and health of the parallel society.
Track 4: Cultural and Communitarian Foundations. Freedom requires more than institutions; it requires a culture that values responsibility, contract, and tolerance. Topics may include: Educational curricula for liberty; The role of art, media, and narrative in shaping post-statist consciousness; Building social trust in diverse, voluntary communities; Addressing the sociological challenges of anarchic orders (crime, poverty, exclusion) through purely voluntary means.
- Submission Formats: We accept proposals for traditional academic papers (20-minute presentation), interactive workshops (90 minutes), panel discussions, and technology demonstrations.
- Review Process: Submissions will be peer-reviewed by a committee of NHILS faculty and external scholars. Selection criteria include originality, rigor, practical relevance, and alignment with the conference theme.
- Publication: Selected papers will be published in the conference proceedings and considered for a special edition of the Journal of Libertarian Studies, published by NHILS Press.
Conference Details and Participation
The conference will be a hybrid event, with in-person attendance at our campus and high-quality virtual participation available for those unable to travel. The in-person experience includes networking dinners, tours of local agorist projects, and unstructured time for collaboration. We are committed to making this a productive gathering, not just a series of talks. Each track will culminate in a working session where participants collaborate on a concrete output, such as a model legal clause, a strategic blueprint for a secessionist movement, or a software specification.
We especially encourage submissions from individuals and groups actively engaged in real-world projects. This conference is designed to connect theorists with practitioners, coders with legal scholars, and activists from around the world. Our goal is to synthesize the scattered efforts of the liberty movement into a coherent, multi-pronged strategy for achieving tangible decentralization within our lifetimes. If you are working on the front lines of secession, legal innovation, or agorist entrepreneurship, we want to hear from you. Join us in New Hampshire to help draft the blueprints for a world of voluntary mosaics, not compulsory monopolies. Proposal submissions are now open.