CFP: 2026 ECPR General Conference

2026 ECPR General Conference, 8 – 11 September, Jagiellonian University, Kraków

Call for Papers (Deadline 5 January)

Guidelines to propose a paper: https://ecpr.eu/Events/Event/Content?ID=1588&EventID=349

• Section number and/or title you wish to propose to, as listed in the Academic Programme
• Title, abstract (max. 500 words) and 3–8 keywords
• Please indicate within your abstract to which panel you wish to be included

Section 65: Threats to Democracy and What to Do About Them: A Sciences of the Democracies Action Guide

https://ecpr.eu/Events/Event/SectionDetails/1655

Endorsed by the ECPR Research Network: The Sciences of the Democracies

Section Chairs: Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) & Michael Hoffmann (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Across the world, democracies appear to be under strain. Observers point to the rise of populism and authoritarian tendencies, to misinformation and polarization, to unequal representation and declining trust, to the corrosion of democratic norms, and to the fragility of institutional checks and balances. Yet this diagnosis is not universally valid: while some forms of democracy, particularly liberal and representative institutions at the national level, show clear signs of crisis and decay, others at more local levels, or even in areas entirely outside of formal politics, are thriving. Participatory, deliberative, sortive, economical, environmental and small-group or polity experiments often display renewed vitality and public engagement. Recognizing this uneven landscape is crucial. It calls for a more dynamic understanding of democracy as a set of evolving forms and practices, and for dialogue among scholars exploring why some democracies falter while others adapt and even flourish. These concerns have spurred a vast and fragmented research landscape, often addressing specific dimensions of democratic change but rarely integrating them into a broader, constructive agenda for democratic renewal.

This Section - endorsed by the ECPR Research Network The Sciences of the Democracies - aims to provide a forum for scholars who want to connect diagnoses of democratic threats with proposals for innovation and reform. The Section embraces a genuinely transdisciplinary spirit - inviting collaboration between theoretical and empirical perspectives and practical design thinking, all with a focus on democratic renewal.

The Section is structured around three guiding questions:

1. What exactly are the main problems that threaten the stability and legitimacy of contemporary democratic systems?
2. Which democratic innovations, institutional reforms, or civic practices could address these problems in a sustainable and legitimate way?
3. Where are different forms of democracy gaining ground in the world and why?

Panels and Themes

The Section proposes ten panels, each focusing on a different dimension of the overarching theme. Individual papers may fit within or across these panels.

Panel 1: Polarization and the Erosion of Civic Trust
Panel chairs and Discussants tbd
Building on comparative and theoretical perspectives, this panel examines pernicious polarization as a threat to democratic stability and social cohesion. Beyond diagnosing its causes, contributors are invited to share insights into what works or could work.

Panel 2: Epistemic Integrity and the Problem of Misinformation
Panel chairs and Discussants tbd
This panel explores how misinformation, conspiracy narratives, and digital media dynamics undermine the epistemic foundations of democratic practices and institutions. It welcomes interdisciplinary approaches linking cognitive science, communication studies, and political theory.

Panel 3: Populism, Representation, and the People
Panel chairs and Discussants tbd
Populism is often described as both a symptom and a driver of democratic crisis. This panel revisits that familiar dichotomy by asking whether populist mobilizations might also generate innovations. Rather than rehearsing the distinction between “good” and “bad” populism, it invites papers that examine how populist movements, rhetoric, or leadership styles reshape democratic participation, transparency, and civic engagement.

Panel 4: Socioeconomic Inequality and Democratic Representation
Panel chairs and Discussants tbd
This panel examines how rising inequalities shape political behavior, representation, and legitimacy, and how democracies can adapt to these structural pressures. The goal is to push the debate from diagnosis to reconstruction, identifying pathways toward resilient democracies.

Panel 5: Constitutional Safeguards and Institutional Design
Panel chairs and Discussants tbd
In many contexts, the traditional liberal safeguards of democracy - constitutions, courts, and checks and balances - are no longer working as intended. This panel starts from that sobering observation and asks: How can democratic institutions be redesigned to remain resilient when formal guarantees fail?

Panel 6: Democratic Innovations and Experiments
Panel chairs and Discussants tbd
This panel highlights new forms of citizen participation, deliberative assemblies, and digital democratic experiments, but asks more pointedly: Which innovation addresses exactly which problem? How to deal with other problems? Who is adopting these innovations, for what purposes, and with what effects? It aims to link theory and practice, drawing on examples of democratic innovation worldwide.

Panel 7: Learning from Crises – Democracy’s Adaptive Capacity
Panel chair: Michael Hoffmann, Discussants tbd
This panel examines how democracies respond to and learn from major shocks such as pandemics, wars, and environmental crises - but also asks when and why they fail to do so. Contributors are invited to explore the mechanisms, limits, and comparative dimensions of crisis-driven adaptation, considering how e.g. institutional design, public trust, and political leadership affect democratic resilience in contrast to authoritarian performance.

Panel 8: The Science(s) of the Democracies – Reflexivity and Method
Panel chair: Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann, Discussants tbd
This panel turns the lens inward, asking which problems of democratic practice the study of democracies is facing and what to do about them. Contributors are invited to reflect on what it means to democratize political science: How can we make knowledge production more inclusive across disciplines, regions, and methodologies? What kinds of collaborative infrastructures or reflexive methods could sustain a truly democratic science of democracy?

Panel 9: On AI and Democracy
Panel chair: Lukasz Wordliczek, Discussants tbd
This panel examines AI as both a promise and a peril for democracy - from enhancing deliberation and participation to potentially eroding autonomy and critical awareness. It invites theoretical and empirical contributions that explore how democratic research can understand, assess, and guide this transformative relationship between AI and democratic practice.

Panel 10: Towards New Democratic Imaginaries
Panel chair: Jean-Paul Gagnon, Discussants tbd
The concluding panel brings together theoretical and practical perspectives to chart new narratives of democracy for an era in which the old canons of legitimacy and truth have lost much of their persuasive power. This panel will serve as both a creative forum and a launching point for collective publications and network collaborations emerging from the Section.

Intended Outcomes

The Section is designed as a bridge between the very latest in diagnosis and practice. By mapping the conceptual, empirical, and normative dimensions of democratic threats, it will identify points of convergence between different research communities. The long-term aim is to produce an edited volume or series (e.g., Threats to Democracy and What to Do About Them), providing an interdisciplinary roadmap for democratic innovation and renewal.

Norma Osterberg-Kaufmann (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

Michael Hoffmann (Georgia Institute of Technology)