The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) is now accepting Section proposals for the next General Conference taking place in Kraków from 8 – 11 September 2026.

Your proposal could address any area of political science – from comparative politics to public policy to European studies.

Proposals

There is a two-stage process for submitting proposals:

In late February 2026, the Academic Programme will be published on the ECPR website and the participants will be informed of the outcome of their proposals.

Key roles

• Section Chair – manages and curates proposals for their Section.
• Panel Chair – facilitates fair, engaging discussion between Paper Presenters and the audience.
• Paper Presenter – shares their research findings and ideas with the audience.
• Discussant – engages deeply with each Paper, highlights key insights, and stimulates discussion.

Participation rules

• Individuals may perform the function of Section Chair and Panel Chair only once.
• Each Section should have one Chair and one Co-Chair.
• Section Chair must be from an ECPR Full Member institution.
• Paper Presenters can present no more than two Papers.
• Paper Presenters are expected to serve as Discussants for one Paper within their Panel.
• Participants should ensure their availability for the entire duration of the conference.

Panel and Paper proposals

• All Panels provisionally proposed as part of accepted Sections must be formally submitted via the Panel proposal form.
• Panels should include 3-5 Papers.
• Papers submitted as part of a Panel do not need to be resubmitted individually.
• Paper Presenters are expected to serve as Discussants for one paper within their panel.
• If your Paper has more than one author, the person making the proposal will be listed as the Paper Presenter.

What you’ll need

To make a proposal, Panel Chairs/Co-Chairs, Discussants, Paper Presenters and Co-Authors must have a My ECPR profile. If you don’t already have one, create it here in just a few clicks.

Applies to individual Paper proposals:

• Section number and/or title you wish to propose to, as listed in the Academic Programme
• Panel title and abstract
• 3-8 keywords*, selected from a predetermined list, indicating the Panel subject, theme and scope
• Email address of the Panel Co-Chair and Discussants, as registered in My ECPR
• Title, abstract and 3–8 keywords* for each Paper
• Email address of each Paper Presenter and Co-Author (if applicable), as registered in My ECPR

Role of Section Chairs

Section Chairs will be expected to undertake the following roles:

• Develop a clear description of the Section’s focus and scope.
• Evaluate and select Panel and Paper proposals submitted to the Section.
• Aim for a diversity of gender, geography and career stage.
• Assign Panel Chairs and Discussants, as appropriate.
• Organise individual Papers into Panels or assign them to Panels, as appropriate.
• After registration, review Panels and Papers, merging or creating panels as needed.

For further information click here