CfP - Special Issue on The UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation: Negotiating an End to Tax Injustice? (Finance & Space)

Special Issue Editor(s)

Daniel Haberly, University of Sussex, UK

Alex Cobham, Tax Justice Network, UK

Miroslav Palanský, Tax Justice Network, UK, and Charles University, Czechia

Abstract deadline: 14 June 2025

Manuscript deadline: 31 August 2025

CfP details

The UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation: Negotiating an End to Tax Injustice?

It is estimated that countries are losing roughly $500 billion in revenue per year to global cross-border tax abuse, with losses disproportionately concentrated in the world’s least developed countries (Tax Justice Network, 2024). While international efforts to reform the international tax framework to reign in these abuses have gathered force in recent years, the incremental and partial nature of reforms led by the OECD has also prompted scepticism as to their likely efficacy. This has led to renewed efforts, led by countries in the Global South, to launch a more ambitious and internationally inclusive tax reform effort centred on the UN. Following three years of negotiation, these efforts have now culminated in the stage, as affirmed in votes in the general assembly of UN member states, of drafting terms of reference for a full framework convention on international tax reform. This aims to not only address international tax abuse at a technical level, but also the international power imbalances in the tax governance and reform framework itself.

This special issue will provide a timely complement as well as commentary on this ongoing UN-led tax reform process by bringing together a combination of cutting-edge empirical research on worldwide tax abuse and offshore investment structures with detailed supporting visuals as well as commentaries by leading academic experts and stakeholders who have been directly and indirectly involved in the UN tax convention negotiation process. It will provide a state-of-the-art overview of both the scope of the issue of tax avoidance and the specific types of mechanisms that are needed to address this issue, situated in the historical context of prior international initiatives and agreements, and their shortcomings (e.g. as centered on the OECD). This special issue thereby aims to provide a critical interdisciplinary perspective on the opportunity to create a globally inclusive and effective forum to curb international tax abuse and promote financial transparency.

Topics of interest

We welcome submissions related to, but not limited to, the following themes:

• The evolution and architecture of offshore investments and tax abuse.

• Quantitative analyses of cross-border illicit financial flows and their policy implications.

• Regional perspectives on international tax cooperation, including Africa’s role in the UN negotiations.

• Historical developments in international tax governance and their relevance to the UN Framework.

• Critical assessments of OECD tax reform measures, including Pillars 1 and 2.

• The intersection of tax justice and financing for development in the age of global inequalities.

Submission Instructions

Interested authors should submit an abstract of up to 500 words (all inclusive) on one page. The abstract should include the proposed title; keywords; and the names, affiliations, and contact details of all authors. Please send your submission by email to the Special Issue editors (D.Haberly@sussex.ac.uk, alex@taxjustice.net, miroslav@taxjustice.net) by the 14th of June. Authors of selected abstracts will be notified by the end of July and invited to submit a full paper, which will undergo the standard peer-review process of Finance & Space.

The editors are exploring the possibility of hosting an online workshop for selected contributors, followed by a public online conference to further discuss the themes of the special issue and provide feedback on draft papers. Participation in these events is encouraged to foster dialogue and collaboration, but is not required for inclusion in the issue.

Successful authors will be invited to submit their full papers for peer review via the journal's submission system following the call. All submissions will be subject to the journal's usual peer review process.