RegNet scholars present at 2025 Society for the Study of Social Problems Conference

Dr Ibi Losoncz and Professor Kate Henne attended the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) 75th Annual Meeting, held from 7–10 August 2025 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

Dr Losoncz presented her coauthored paper with RegNet’s Felicity Tepper, Criminalization of Climate Protest and Erosion of Democratic Principles in Australia, as part of the conference program. She spoke about how escalating climate-related disasters, food insecurity and infrastructure failures threaten domestic political and economic security. Rather than addressing these challenges, Australian governments exploit genuine security concerns to justify repression of climate protest and environmental activism. This resort to authoritarian anti-environmentalism, suspending liberal democratic rights and coercive state power risks normalising far-right practices within mainstream Australian institutions.

Professor Henne presented her work, Tensions of Expertise and Law: Advocating for Domestic Violence Victim-survivors with Traumatic Brain Injury, in the Social Movements for Legal Change session.

The conference brought together scholars, students and activists under the theme Insurgent Sociology in a Time of Crises. The theme called for critical engagement with overlapping global and local struggles amidst multiple crises, including the climate crisis, global capitalism, militarism and the assault on critical studies.

Across four days, the conference featured critical dialogues, author-meets-critics panels, workshops, and sessions on insurgent theory, decolonial practice and public scholarship. The program included presentations by activists, academics and students committed to advancing justice through engaged sociological work.

Reflecting on the experience, Dr Losoncz said, “SSSP is unique in their commitment to welcome and nurture new members, including a mentoring program for new members and a welcoming New Members reception and breakfast. It was an inspirational experience connecting with researchers and activists concerned with the same social problem and exchanging our ideas in such a supportive environment.”