Announcement | Luhmann Conference Programme 2026

The preliminary version of the programme for the Luhmann Conference 2026 at the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik is available for download here.

Luhmann Conference 2026
Theme: Meaning. Observed with … 
Venue: Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik, Croatia 

Conference dates: 14–18 September 2026
Pre-conference dinner: 14 September 2026

References:

• Andersen, N. A. (2003). The undecidability of decision. In Bakken T. and Hernes T. (Eds.) Autopoietic Organization Theory. Copenhagen Business School Press.
• Harste, G. (2021). The Habermas-Luhmann Debate. Columbia University Press.
• Joenhill, J. I. (2012). Inclusion and exclusion—A guiding distinction to the understanding of issues of cultural background. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 29(4), 387-401.
• Luhmann, N. (1995a). The paradoxy of observing systems. Cultural Critique, 31, 37-55.
• Luhmann, N. (1995b). Social systems. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Luhmann, N. (2012). Theory of Society, Volume 1. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Luhmann, N. (2013). Theory of Society, Volume 2. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Morales, F. X. (2025). Self/other: Guiding distinction for the social theory of the self. Current Sociology, 73(4), 595-612.
• Roth, S. (2009). New for whom? Initial images from the social dimension of innovation. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 4(4), 231-252.
• Roth, S. (2021). Draw your organization! A solution-focused theory-method for business school challenges and change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 34(4), 713-728.
• Roth, S. and Kaczmarczyk. M. (2026). The questions of observation. Expanding the dimensions of meaning in Niklas Luhmann’s theory programme. Manuscript, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19724.99203.
• Sohn, Y. (2021). Four pillars of Luhmann’s analytical apparatus: Applications for communication research. Studies in Communication Sciences, 21(2), 207-224.
• Taekke, J. (2025). Cognition as Communication: Exploring Niklas Luhmann’s Theory of Knowledge. Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology, 29(3), 6.

Further reading:

• Morgner, C. (2022). The Making of Meaning: From the Individual to Social Order: Selections from Niklas Luhmann’s Works on Semantics and Social Structure. Oxford University Press.
• Roth S. and Lien V. (in press), When Programmes Disagree About Programmes: Large Language Models, Code Poetry, and the Problem of Programme–Programme Communication, Information Technology & People, DOI: 10.1108/ITP-02-2026-0241.
• Takahashi, T. (2024). Observing News and Media in a Complex Society: A Sociocybernetic Perspective. Brill.
• Watson, S., and Brezovec, E. (2025). Autopoietic Ecology: Rethinking Systems, Meaning, and Matter. Manuscript, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18462.24649.

Best paper award

The Next Society Corporation is pleased to sponsor an award of EUR 500 for the best paper submitted to the Luhmann Conference 2026.