We are excited to announce our 2026 EASP Preconference on Collective Action in Complex Times: What Still Works, What Doesn’t, and Where to Next.
Until recently, society has been making steady progress towards a more peaceful and equal world. However, we now find ourselves in a post-pandemic world marked by ongoing conflicts, economic instability, widespread misinformation, climate change, and the rise of the far-right. Collective action, however, remains a powerful tool to address these challenges. This is evidenced by a recent uptake in collective action across Europe (e.g., anti-authoritarian protests in Serbia) and the world (e.g., anti-Trump protests in the US).
But do our collective action models, theories, and empirical findings still apply in these complex times? Which ones do and which ones don’t? And if they don’t apply, where to next? This preconference seeks to answer these questions to better understand collective action in complex times.
Event details
The preconference will be held on Tuesday, the 30th of June at the Palais Universitaire in Strasbourg, France. EASP has set the cost for attending the preconference as 60 euros which includes catering. The pre-conference fee includes lunch and coffee breaks.
The preconference will include:
- blitz sessions for attendees to present their work, obtain feedback, and begin building connections across topics and research approaches,
- roundtable discussions, and
- a collaboration workshop with participants to spur future research aimed at understanding collective action in complex times.
We hope to collate the work presented and/or developed at this preconference in a special issue or edited volume. We will conclude the preconference with an organised dinner.
Please note that all attendees, including speakers and audience, must register for both the EASP General Meeting and the pre-conference via the official EASP registration portal. Participants may register for one pre-conference only to avoid scheduling conflicts. All speakers are expected to attend in person.
Presentations
We are now inviting submissions for blitz presentations (5-10 minutes) that engage with the theory, methods, and real-world applications of collective action research. We are particularly interested in topics which examine collective action in repressive contexts, democratic backsliding, solidarity actions, large scale citizen movements, and collective action for neglected issues. We are keen to prioritise the presentation of unpublished work and encourage researchers from diverse backgrounds and research approaches as well as early career researchers to apply.
To participate in this EASP preconference, please submit a brief abstract (250 words maximum) to this https://forms.gle/Y3fUwPjgX4mHmKPw9 by the 5th of January, 2026, midnight (CET). Notifications of acceptance will be sent by the 25th of January.
We hope to notify applicants of the outcome by the beginning of January 2026.
This meeting is being organised by Helena Radke (JCU), Maja Kutlaca (Durham University), and Özden Melis Uluğ (University of Sussex) from the Collective Action Network (CAN).
For more information, please contact the organizers ().
If you’re not yet a member of the Collective Action Network (CAN), here’s the sign-up form to receive information about our seminars, workshops, and networking activities: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlXVZD8yBi8RVleMbiFSwBt8LjTmvtj72OA3CmL9w4xMxwhw/viewform.