Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Tiziana Corda, Gianni Del Panta,
Alessandra Russo

The Section “Political Regimes and Transitions” sees for the second consecutive year the collaboration and synergies of the Standing Groups “Political Regimes” and “Russia and the Post-Soviet Space”. It aims to gather together researchers who, starting from different perspectives (e.g. comparative politics, international relations, political theory, area studies) and based on a plurality of methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative), study democratic and non-democratic regimes, global and regional trends of democratization and autocratization, resistance to autocratization, and processes of regime change, including their determinants and possible consequences, as well as their relations to foreign-policy making and local/international dimensions. Whereas the section adopts a comparative perspective, different area specialisms and single-case studies are warmly encouraged.

Within this admittedly broad framework, we encourage the submission of panel proposals
addressing one or more research topics from the following non-exhaustive list:
– The comparative study of democratic and non-democratic regimes, with a focus on both institutions, public policies, and socio-economic performance;
– The analysis of the various phases of the processes of regime change, such as democratization, autocratization, and other kinds of regime transition and transformation;
– The analysis of the impact of the processes of regime change and transformation on public policies and development;
– The analysis of the quality of contemporary democratic regimes in light of the challenges that they have recently faced;
– The examination of the functioning of contemporary authoritarian regimes and of their survival strategies;
– The study of the phenomenon of democratic resilience and the strategies of resistance against autocratization;
– The investigation of the sub-national and supranational dimensions of democratization and autocratization;

– Regime stability, survival and successions in the framework of illiberal and hybrid political orders;
– International trends of democratic backsliding, and international mechanisms and practices of democracy promotion and protection;
– The international dimension of authoritarianism and the contestation of / resistance to the diffusion of liberal-democratic norms and institutions.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Marco Almagisti, Antonio Campati, Diego Giannone, Damiano Palano

This Section aims to collect proposals for panels and papers that seek to reflect, in a general sense, on the role, methods and contribution of political theory and political history in political science.
The complexity of contemporary political phenomena, at the national, supranational and international levels, increasingly encourages a return to theoretical models and approaches capable of classifying, understanding, explaining and describing an era of profound transformations. In other words, it proposes once again the centrality of concepts and their construction. Furthermore, the historical orientation of the field of political theory promotes an understanding of how abstractions, questions and problems have developed over time.
The contribution of political theory and political history to political science thus seems essential, both for its intrinsic heuristic power and for the possibility of fostering fruitful encounters between models and “conceptualizations” of politics, on the one hand, and empirical approaches and qualitative and quantitative methodologies, on the other.
In this sense, contemporary political phenomena can be reread and interpreted through the lens of theory and conceptual development, key aspects – as Sartori teaches us – for political science. A possible intersection that includes, by way of example, key concepts and categories of political thought, including – but not limited to – freedom, equality, the theory and practice of  representation, types of democracy, the state, ideology, technocracy, nationalism, populism, the nature of the European Union, citizenship, the political regimes of international institutions and their role, or issues of war and peace.
Moreover, a rethinking of the contribution of classical approaches to politics to the understanding of political phenomena seems imperative today. Think, for example, of the continuing contribution of realism, the crisis of (neo)liberalism, Marxism (e.g. in relation to the state), social constructivism or postcolonial approaches.
The section therefore encourages panel and paper proposals that highlight the critical role of political theory and political history in political science. For example, proposals might include:
– the key concepts of political theory (‘politics’, ‘power’, ‘representation’, ‘legitimacy’, ‘democracy’, etc.);
– the historical reconstruction and genealogy of particular concepts or theories;
– the ‘macro-political’ theoretical models;
– the methods of concept construction;
– the relations between empirically oriented political theory and the traditions of political thought and political philosophy;
– the relationship between political theory and research methods;
– the relevance of the ‘classics’ of political thought (ancient, modern and contemporary) for political science research;
– Empirically-oriented areas and issues. E.g. technocracy, populism, crisis of democracy.

– the different trajectories of political and economic development at the national and local levels;
– the comparative perspective needed to place national contexts in a spatial and temporal dimension of change, in which international phenomena interact with national and local developments.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Elisabetta De Giorgi, Selena Grimaldi, Enrico Borghetto

Contemporary representative democracies are often conceptualised as chains of delegation relationships that connect citizens to the political system. Along the chain, citizens delegate decision-making powers to elected representatives sitting in legislative assemblies and to the members of the executive. Political office-holders are in turn made accountable to citizens through a variety of instruments among which political parties are prominent, especially in parliamentary systems. This conceptual framework places primary emphasis on classical themes such as the quality of electoral representation, the degree of policy congruence between citizens and political elites, the functioning of political institutions and the nature of executive-legislative relations. Along with these topics, there is a growing scholarly literature focusing on non-electoral forms of representation. This section is devoted to the analysis of both classical and emerging topics related to parliaments, governments and representation, at sub-national, national and supranational level. We welcome panels examining the relationship between citizens and the political elite – candidates, members of parliament (MPs), party leaders –, the careers of politicians, the behaviour of (elected and prospective) parliamentarians, the internal organization of parliaments, issue-politics in parliament, the legislative process, executive-legislative relations, executive politics and non-electoral forms of representation. We additionally encourage panels on institutions such as courts. Panels on the consequences of the various crises – economic, migration, health, military crises – that have impacted on democracies in recent years are also welcome. This section is open to panels that focus on the Italian political system as well as to those that adopt a comparative approach.
Panels may focus on – but are not limited to – the following topics.

Citizens and political elites
Political representation is a particularly complex and multifaceted concept, as politicians can connect to citizens in many ways. Elected and prospective MPs represent their voters not only through constituency work and the provision of resources for the district, but also by behaving in a responsive manner to voters’ opinions. For this reason, the study of the attitudinal correspondence between citizens and politicians still constitutes a major topics for scholars interested in representation. Analysing policy congruence between voters and politicians is an especially promising line of research in light of the crises that have recently hit European democracies.

Political careers
Italian political scientists have devoted a great deal of attention to the study of political careers. Much has changed since the days when Giovanni Sartori analysed the biographical characteristics of the Italian parliamentarians. The availability of new online data on candidates, parliamentarians and holders of executive posts in local, regional, national and supranational institutions opens new opportunities to study career trajectories within and across different institutional settings.

Legislative behaviour
The topic of legislative behaviour is a classical one, and has often been connected to the study of intra-party politics and electoral incentives. Two innovations are revitalising these studies: on the one hand, the availability of new data on legislative and non-legislative activities and methodological advances have opened virtually unlimited possibilities for eager analysts; on the other hand, a new lively debate on the factors influencing legislative behaviour has recently developed. The old divide between those looking at social norms and values and those considering politicians as purely rational actors has given way to a more constructive effort to understand how the logic of appropriateness and the logic of consequentiality may interact.

Internal organisation of parliaments
The study of the internal organisation of the parliament has a long tradition in Italy, especially with regard to the peculiarities of Italian bicameralism and the role of legislative committees. However, a lot of work is still to be done in this subfield. As parliaments are institutional bodies that evolve over time, existing systematic comparisons across political systems need to be updated. Moreover, the Italian case offers a number of extremely interesting topics to be addressed: among others, the revisions of the standing orders, the evolution of the (once so powerful) legislative committees, and the impact of the recent reduction in the number of MPs on the functioning of the two chambers.

Issue-politics in parliament
According to the issue-competition literature, political parties compete by mainly emphasising issues on which they enjoy an advantage over their political opponents. While issue competition was originally studied by analysing party manifestos, recent works have also started shedding light on how and why parties distribute issue attention in the period between elections and, more specifically, while fulfilling their representative role in parliament. Studying the content of parliamentary questions, bills, laws, decrees and speeches has become one of the most promising ways to investigate issue competition beyond the electoral context.

Legislative process
As highlighted by an extensive and ever-growing research programme on policymaking in multi-party systems, the legislative process mainly serves as a venue where the members of governing coalitions manage their day-to-day relationships and reach policy compromises. The availability of a huge volume of online data on legislative processes and outputs now allows scholars to investigate several topics in this subfield by adopting a large-N design. Some examples are analyses of the patterns of cooperation, competition and conflict among actors (belonging to the government and/or the opposition), works on the consequences of fragmentation in parliament, the study of how different preferences in the two chambers shape legislative outcomes, and analyses of legislative production in times of crisis.

Executive-legislative relations
Since the beginning of the 21th century European politics has been shaken by several crises such as the Great Recession, the migration crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war. While the first two have changed the content of political competition and increased polarisation, the third one is believed to have fundamentally altered the equilibrium between parliaments and governments. The pandemic has contributed to an expansion of executive powers to the detriment of accountability mechanisms, weakening parliamentary representatives’ oversight and policy-making capacities. However, there are signs that legislatures have been able to react, innovating their (sometimes) old-fashioned procedures. As for the Ukraine-Russia war, the impact of this shock on executive-legislative relations is still to be investigated in depth.

Executive politics
Executives are prominent in ordinary policymaking – especially in parliamentary democracies – and play a leading role in managing crises. Although topics such as the lifecycle of cabinets and the output of government activity have been extensively studied in the comparative literature, many aspects of executive politics are still to be explored. For example, the governance phase has received far less attention than the stages of government formation and termination. Moreover, our knowledge can be well improved regarding patterns of ministerial stability and personnel continuity between cabinets. Also, the role of technocrats and technocratic expertise in decision-making processes has to be further investigated, especially in the context of the recent crises.

Non-electoral forms of representation
Political theorists have recently emphasised that a representative relation may emerge even outside the electoral context. There is a representative relation whenever someone claims to speak or act on behalf on someone else, provided that such claim is accepted by the relevant audience. Non-electoral representation is very common in democratic systems: social movements and “self-appointed representatives” are typical actors whose aim is to champion a cause without having received a mandate to do so. Non-electoral representation can contribute to the correction of some limitations of the traditional representative institutions and may serve as a preventive force against the hegemonic power of political authorities.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Fabio Bordignon, Rossella Rega

The transformations of political systems, technological innovations, and the evolution of the media are increasingly interconnected. The great 2024–2025 electoral cycle has further highlighted how political dynamics are ever more shaped by interactions with the communication sphere, in its various dimensions, and through the different effects it generates. The unprecedented dynamics of the US Presidential elections of 2024 and their aftermath have simultaneously revealed the persistence of media-related conflict and polarization, the significance of personalized and celebrity politics, and the formation of large conglomerates of economic, technological, and media power. The impact extends far beyond the US and coincides with a redefinition of the moderation policy of major social media platforms. Meanwhile, the circulation of false or misleading information is part of the threat that illiberal actors and regimes pose to democratic systems. Electoral campaigns and the electoral process in general are increasingly suspected of being compromised, manipulated, or infiltrated in many parts of the world. This creates significant dilemmas within democratic regimes themselves on how to confront these challenges without compromising their values. Perhaps the most dramatic event in this regard took place in Europe, with the controversial decision of Romania’s Constitutional Court to annul the presidential elections following the first-round victory of the far-right, pro-Russian candidate Georgescu. Meanwhile, the rapid and continuous evolution of technology, along with the spread of AI, is pushing the boundaries of the mediatization and digitization of politics. The use of big data, algorithms, and microtargeting provides new tools for election campaigns, raising critical concerns about the potential manipulation of democratic processes. More broadly, these trends spark deeper reflection on the digital revolution’s impact on the political sphere and representation.

In this context of profound transformation, the emergence of new communicative phenomena such as deepfakes, hybrid disinformation campaigns, and algorithmic manipulation strategies raise not only technical but also ethical and normative questions. The ability of generative artificial intelligence to produce content indistinguishable from that created by humans poses new challenges for information integrity and trust in democratic institutions. At the same time, we are witnessing a redefinition of the boundaries between institutional political communication and informal communication, between the traditional public sphere and new digital deliberative spaces, between top-down communication and horizontal and participatory communication processes.

This section invites panels that deal with the topic of political communication in its different domains, relying on a plurality of theoretical approaches and empirical methods. We welcome contributions that provide reflections in the more traditional fields of research, as well as contributions that consider the new phenomena of fragmentation, decentralization, and dis/re-intermediation of political communication at the local, national, and international levels. Studies examining the resilience of democratic systems in the face of new communicative challenges and proposing innovative models of regulation and governance of political communication in the digital era are also welcome.

Proposed panels may include contributions from either theoretical or empirical perspectives. Methodologically, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research approaches are all welcome. Additionally, panel proposals with a comparative perspective are particularly encouraged. Panels and papers may be presented in Italian or English (fully or partially).

Proposals are expected to fall within the following broad research areas:

•       public and institutional communication;
•       electoral communication and campaign management;
•       data-driven campaigning and microtargeting;
•       the media and political participation;
•       digital media and new forms of political action;
•       regulation of the media;
•       moderation policy of social media platforms;
•       the effects of the media on citizens and public opinion;
•       the link between political systems and the media;
•       the relationship between politics and journalism;
•       disintermediation and re-intermediation;
•       the globalization of political communication;
•       political communication and digital technologies in international relations and conflicts;
•       international migration and its narrative(s);
•       political communication and climate change;
•       political communication and scientific communication (in the context of health crises);
•       the role of platforms and social networks;
•       methods and techniques of data collection and processing in communication studies;
•       rhetoric and narratives of politics;
•       the (mediated) personalization of politics;
•       political leadership and communication;
•       digital parties;
•       popularization of politics and celebrity politics;
•       mis-information, disinformation and fake news;
•       conspiracy theories;
•       political incivility, hate speech, and the growing toxicity in public debate;
•       populist and anti-system communication and media logic(s);
•       political polarization, echo chambers, and the fragmentation of the public sphere;
•       digital media governance;
•       the opportunities and challenges posed by the evolution of AI;
•       the challenges of the “platform society”;
•       digital constitutionalism;
•       political communication, technology, and the transformation of democracy (and representation);
•       generative AI and the integrity of political discourse;
•       radicalization processes and the role of fringe platforms in political communication;
• ethics of political communication in the age of automation and algorithms.

  The section is also open to considering proposals on additional topics related to the field of political communication. Innovative and interdisciplinary approaches that establish dialogue between communication sciences and other disciplines, such as computer science, cultural and media studies, political philosophy, etc., are particularly encouraged.
  Deadline for proposal submission: April 6

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Massimiliano Andretta, Alberto Bitonti, Giuliana Sorci

The section welcomes and invites panel proposals about the transformations that have affected social movements, grassroots political participation, interest groups politics, lobbying and advocacy in recent years.

With the advent of emergencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine and Palestine, a crisis of conventional forms of political participation and representative democracy has been spreading, together with a general growth of grassroots political participation. New waves of mobilizations against the politics of containment of the pandemic did spread both in Europe and beyond, transforming the global squares into protest arenas for social movements. These mobilizations featured both the emergence and re-emergence of various kinds of old and new collective actors: with a new protagonism by anti-gender and anti-progressive movements – like those being present in some Eastern European countries (Poland and Hungary), who support the limitations to abortion rights and women reproductive rights (greatly weakening their self-determination) and of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, that becomes a target of discriminatory politics by nationalist and reactionary governments. Movements against Covid certification and vaccines have thrived upon the transversal participation of right- and left-wing social movements, and of parties and movements of clearly populist character. Environmental justice movements poured into the global squares against climate change, sparking policy battles between different types of interest groups; the trans-feminist movements organized mobilizations against gender violence suffered by women on a transnational scale, and various labour conflicts kept surfacing in the political agenda at different levels.

New mobilizations and transformations of forms of collective action within new repertoires, identities, and solidarities emerged – also linked to digital media and social networking platforms, allowing movements and interest groups to organize and spread their claims. At the same time, there are also forms of polarization from below (e.g., about vaccines, hate speech, conspiracy theories, fake news, and disinformation). Resort to social networking platforms by activists and citizens also resulted in the dissemination of conspiracy theories and fake news about the causes of the origin of the pandemic, the production of vaccines, and the war in Ukraine and Palestine becoming viral on social networks. While policymakers often react with “emergency measures” to crises, social movements refuse the emergency narrative proposed by power holders, recalling the structural nature of such crises, and trying to overturn the perception of the irreversibility of the events. Thus, while social movements defend rights that are perceived as at risk, they also suggest other possible solutions and narratives, building networks based on mutual trust and solidarity. Current times are characterized by the effects of the Covid-19 period,

the war, the spread of illiberal governments, climate change, and the socio-economic crisis. These are all circumstances that affect policy and politics, but they are also struggle fields and opportunities for progressive social movements and counter-movements, as well as for a multitude of interest groups of different kinds (corporate players, labour unions, professional associations, environmentalist organizations and public interest groups, religious groups, etc.), operating at local, national, and international levels.

The section calls for the presentation of panels covering these themes, starting from empirical research reflecting the adequacy of theoretical and methodological tools that were used until now to analyze, understand, and explain these processes. Contributes featuring a comparative analysis approach and special attention to methodology, with mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approaches, will be well received.

This section aims to host panels discussing the relationship between social movements, interest groups, and traditional political actors (e.g., political parties), analyzing the processes involved across different stages of the policy and influence-production cycles, in mobilization (looking at the role of organization, violence, fundraising, as well as digital technologies in local, national and transnational mobilizations), lobbying and advocacy (targeting policymakers as well as the larger public opinion), political access, and outcomes in terms of influence and policy.

Panels are welcome, regarding:

•   Local and transnational movements, spreading of protest
•   Interest groups politics, advocacy and lobbying
•   Environmental and urban mobilization
•   Labour Conflicts and social movements
•   New and ‘old’ movements and interest groups
•   Gender-related movements, anti-gender themes and feminism
•   Movements and interest groups turning into parties
•   The “game” of influence in specific policy processes
•   Methodological and conceptual challenges in studying movements, interest groups, collective action, and influence
•   Political participation and new forms of digital activism
•   Emotions and social movements
•   Arts, politics and movements
•   Prefigurative politics and movements
•   Communication strategies of movements and interest groups
•   Corporate political activities
•   Lobbying regulation

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Laura Polverari, Andrea Terlizzi, Renata Lizzi

The section hosts panels on the factors and conditions that favor or inhibit innovation and learning in policy-making processes in times of turbulence. The invitation is to deal with transversal issues that can be addressed from multiple perspectives and dimensions: reforms, the public-private relationship, science and new technologies, evaluation, human rights, the role of experts, big data, social and environmental sustainability.
In an era of global crises and grand challenges–such as climate change, pandemics, and the transformation of the balance of power at the international level–the ability to plan, effectively implement, and evaluate the impact of policies will be an important yardstick of public intervention in the coming years.

In this vein, the section calls for panels tackling the complex challenges that governments and communities at various levels – local, national, and supranational – face through the Next Generation EU framework. It also dwells on the public policy responses to the renewed austerity, radically changed geo-political global framework, and the yet uncertain EU policy framework for the period 2028-2034, currently under discussion. How can government policies and administrations provide credible answers to new programming and investment opportunities and complex implementation challenges?

Identifying and testing innovative solutions to old and new problems is now the challenge in assessing the success and failure of policies. The fact that governmental action does not always have positive impacts suggests the need to (re)consider the potential and limits of new ideas, tools, strategies, governance systems, and new forms of citizen involvement in decision-making processes. In this sense, transversality, coordination, and policy coherence represent new theoretical and methodological challenges.

The section invites proposals of panels, workshops, and round tables on topics that, although traditional, can be treated with innovative techniques and points of view. It also invites the community to reflect on continuity and innovation within the public policy analysis field itself. It invites proponents to reflect on the significant challenges posed, for example, by big data and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), and on the stimuli coming from new approaches, such as behavioural public policy and the experimental approach to public administration that enrich more consolidated methods and paradigms. Lastly, proposals would also be welcome that relate to: (i) the implementation of devolved policies in a framework of (potential) differentiated autonomy; (ii) innovation in the public sector (e.g. digitalization, smart cities); (iii) administrative capacity building, recruiting and career development of PA staff, also in the light of crisis management, long-term and future-oriented policy-making,  foresight and risk management; (iv) the development and implementation of major projects including large-scale infrastructure projects, de-carbonization and energy transition commitments, mega events, and public investment programs; and, (v) the future directions of public policy and public administration research, and the theories of policy and public administration change, and theory development. Papers that couch the Italian case in wider comparative analyses will be particularly welcome. While paper and panel proposals will be received in both Italian and English, efforts will be paid to organize at least one panel in the English language to attract scholars from abroad and to include early career scholars in all panels.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Sonia Lucarelli, Andrea Ruggeri

Transformation and change are inherent aspects of both individual and collective life, and international politics is no exception. However, the speed and depth of the changes currently reshaping the international system at all levels are likely unprecedented. Any attempt to characterize the contemporary international order risks being short-lived and falling short of offering a compelling narrative. The notion that the so-called West is in decline is not new—political philosophers have theorized about it for over a century. Yet, interpreting this decline purely in civilizational terms is overly simplistic and inadequate.

As the complexity and uncertainty of the global political and social landscape grow, traditional disciplinary boundaries appear increasingly arbitrary. Even International Relations (IR), despite its global scope, grapples with the challenge of either clinging to outdated paradigms or embracing dystopian and enigmatic portrayals of the world. The fundamental question, therefore, is how IR can effectively interpret, understand, and explain the prevailing dynamics of international politics.

Equally important is the task of discerning the future trajectory of global affairs and the relevance of discussing concepts of order—from the global to the domestic level. This section also seeks to explore whether IR can contribute not only to understanding world politics but also to shaping our cognitive frameworks and practical approaches. To this end, it invites panels and papers that aim to analyse and explain international and transnational politics within today’s uncertain and volatile global context, highlighting IR’s unique contributions.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Silvia Bolgherini, Bruno Marino, Vincenzo Emanuele

This section aims to include panels and papers focusing on the three areas corresponding to the interests of the Standing Group “Parties, Public Opinion, and Elections” and the Standing Group “Candidate and Leader Selection”.

Prospective panels and papers may revolve around local, national and supranational elections, be theoretically and/or empirically oriented, adopt quantitative methods (for instance by analyzing survey or aggregate data) as well as qualitative methods, focus on case studies or have a more comparative perspective.

The following (non-exhaustive) list suggests some possible topics for contributions to the section’s activities.

1. Political Parties

A first approach focuses on party systems and on parties as organizations. The former topic includes the analysis of format, (de)institutionalization, level of polarization, and electoral volatility. The latter entails the examination of party models, party membership, and intraparty democracy (candidate selection, leader selection, intra-party ballots).

A second, more recent, approach pays attention to candidates and party leaders as (more or less) powerful actors in elections, parties, and institutions (i.e., parliaments or governments, also in connection with the area of research of the personalization of politics).

A third approach focuses on parties as central actors in general elections (e.g., regarding electoral supply or coalition-building strategies) but also in parliaments and governments (i.e, party elites in

parliaments and cabinets, MPs’ and ministers’ careers patterns, different patterns of representation, institutional and decisional processes).

2. Public opinion

We welcome contributions related to different topics. First of all, the study public opinion’ s attitudes towards political issues, public policies, both in electoral and non-electoral times. Second, the causes and consequences of a possible increase in ideological or affective polarization among different groups of citizens.

3. Elections

We are particularly interested in a series of topics related to elections in both democratic and hybrid regimes; electoral campaigns and electoral systems, in connection with candidates’ and parties’ behavior and performance; negative campaigning and its consequences for affective polarization; voting behavior at any territorial level.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Giulio Citroni, Stefania Ravazzi

The Federalism, Regional and Local Studies section promotes research and debate on sub-national politics, center-periphery relations, and local and regional public policies. The aim is to foster discussion not only among scholars but also between academics and practitioners on the role of local communities and actors in addressing complex political and policy challenges.

Local contexts are shaped by multiple dynamics that require in-depth political science analysis. Challenges such as the 2008 economic crisis, climate change, demographic shifts, increasing inequalities, health emergencies, natural disasters, refugee movements, and rapid technological changes have significantly impacted sub-national governments, demanding new governance strategies.

Local governments and the polycrisis

Local and regional governments have proven pivotal in the politics and policy-making of measures to manage and contrast the effects of multiple crises: budget cuts, welfare initiatives, local processes of conflict transformation and resolution, all contribute to the environmental and energy transitions, to the consolidation of public finance, to the safeguarding of local economies and livelihoods facing the economic and health crises, migrations and natural disasters alike.

The Role of the European Union

The European Union has an increasingly important role in shaping local policies, both at the regional and urban levels. Cohesion policy remains the EU’s primary investment tool to address territorial disparities, but new initiatives also focus on: efficient resource use and sustainability; the green and digital transition, which, while promising, could deepen inequalities; a place-based approach, promoting integrated territorial development, partnerships, and synergy between EU policies.

Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)

The NRRP, with its large-scale investments, requires every level of Italian public administration to manage funding and interventions effectively, efficiently, and transparently. This calls for: collaboration between public, private, and non-profit actors; integrated policy approaches and improved coordination between institutional levels; strategic administrative capacities, which remain underdeveloped in some areas.

Political Participation & Local Democracy

Local governments are also central to political participation. While Italy has historically seen high voter turnout, recent regional elections in Lombardy and Lazio recorded a significant rise in abstentionism. This raises concerns about growing distrust in political parties and local governance. At the same time, alternative forms of participation are emerging or strengthening, including: volunteerism and civic associations; community-driven initiatives, such as solidarity purchasing groups and energy communities.

The Debate on Differentiated Autonomy

A key issue in the Italian academic and political debate is differentiated autonomy, which raises questions about: solidarity among territories; redistribution of competences and powers; institutional capacities and national cohesion

Call for Papers

The section invites proposals for panels and round tables, in both Italian and English, on topics related to local politics, policies, and governance. Contributions can adopt theoretical, qualitative, or quantitative empirical approaches.

Possible research themes include, but are not limited to:

•       Emerging local policy challenges and the responses adopted by local actors (sustainability and circularity policies, housing policy, mobility policy, education policy, tourism policy etc.)
•       Multi-level governance in urban policies and interactions between institutional actors
•       Innovation in local policymaking, including co-design, co-production, and deliberative practices
•       Crisis governance and the role of local leaders in crisis management and recovery
  •       Local institutional reforms, including territorial reorganization and administrative restructuring
  •       Electoral dynamics and political representation at the local level
  •       Differentiated autonomy and its implications for regional and municipal governance
  •       Local participatory dynamics, from civic activism to social movements
  •       Administrative capacities of local governments and their ability to implement multi-level policies and NRRP projects

  Panels and roundtables are expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of local political dynamics, policy processes, and governance strategies which are essential for both academics and policymakers to navigate present and future challenges.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Alessia Damonte, Valerio Vignoli

The SISP Section on Methods for Political Science is home to proposals delving into any aspect of empirical methodology. It welcomes submissions about issues in, and applications of, concept analysis, measurement, computational techniques, modeling, research design, causal inference, and theory development and testing. Applications can discuss either single- or multi-method strategies in any substantive subfield of political science and cognate disciplines. Proposals that improve the dialogue among frequentist, logical, Bayesian, or radically subjectivist approaches to empirical knowledge are encouraged.
The Section also welcomes discussions on replicability, Open Science and the FAIRification of political data, and teaching methods for political scientists. Besides, proposals that address the Conference theme, and proposals with ties to other Sections are especially welcome. The Section will consider proposals for individual papers and posters as well as complete panels, roundtables, and open workshops.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Igor Guardiancich, Camilla Mariotto, Marco Siddi

Scholars have described the period that began in the second half of 2008 – when the economic and financial crisis hit the EU – as the “polycrisis” or “permacrisis” of the Union. Starting with the Eurocrisis, moving on with the migration and refugee crisis, the long-process of withdrawal of the UK leading to Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new conflicts in its neighbourhood, the EU has been confronted with a dramatic string of unprecedented events. While the EU has managed to navigate through the storm, the crises have fuelled support for anti-EU and populist parties, contesting the EU and its policies sometimes from the highest executive office in some Member states.

Since their inception the new European Parliament and the second von der Leyen’s Commission have shown some novelties: the absence of an absolute majority between the centre-right (embodied by the European People’s Party) and the centre-left (the Socialists and Democrats) in the European Parliament; the insurgence of a potential right coalition (the so-called Venezuela majority) between the centre-right and the far right parties; and the nomination as executive vice president of a Eurosceptic and populist Commissioner. Moreover, Trump’s re-election has provoked political turmoil on the trajectory of the European project and its neighbourhood, and instable transatlantic relations, especially regarding trade, security and defence policies. The question of Europe’s strategic autonomy in foreign policy and beyond has acquired prominence again.

Despite these significant, almost ‘quasi-existential’ setbacks, it is important to emphasize that the mistakes made in the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis—such as the hasty adoption of the “expansive austerity” doctrine—have not been repeated. These errors caused considerable harm by alienating voters and governments, which undermined the core of the European project focused on shared prosperity. In addition to the ‘Hamiltonian moment’ symbolized by the relatively solidaristic response to the pandemic and the recently introduced state aid framework in reaction to the aggravating climate crisis, increasing geoeconomic competition and the energy price crises, the shift from an economic to a more social Europe, which began under the Juncker Commission, has continued to progress under the Von der Leyen Presidency. Even Trump’s threat to disengage from Europe, leaving the EU countries vulnerable to potential Russian aggression, might encourage more integration towards a stronger EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy.

If a list of the market-correcting policies supplanting market-making ones is beyond the scope of this summary, as they range from ecological measures such as the European Green Deal to regulatory breakthroughs such as the Digital Markets Act, just a brief look at the social policy domain indicates that a number of initiatives have been pushed forward or are being debated that would have been inconceivable just five years earlier. Planned or definitive legislative acts, such as the Minimum Wage Directive, the Platform Work Directive, the setup of Individual Learning Accounts represent paradigmatic changes in the conception of what a European social model signifies and may influence its design and operation for decades to come. It is in the light of these contrasting developments that the tenth legislative period of the European Parliament needs to be assed.
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The primary objective of this section is to analyse, interpret, and explain, from various perspectives and through different methodologies, the challenges affecting the EU political system and the resulting changes at both the supranational level and within a multi-level governance framework. The analysis primarily focuses on EU institutions, actors, and public policies. In an illustrative fashion, the Section welcomes contributions exploring:

–       the validity of theories of EU integration to explain the more recent changes in the EU political system;

–       the assessment of the Europeanisation of the member states, particularly but not only Italy;

–       intra-institutional dynamics, such as the reforms adopted by the European Parliament to tackle corruption and limit foreign interferences;

–       inter-institutional dynamics and power-relationships between the European Council, the Council of the EU, the Commission and the EP;

–       the run-up to the 2024 EP elections and the reform of the electoral law, the Spitzenkandidaten process and policies to protect the integrity of elections;

–       the results and consequences of the 2024 EP elections;

–       the narratives about the EU in the media and in the public sphere;

–       the current fractures between economic and social Europe and between market-making and market-correcting measures;

–       the latest developments in the most salient policy fields, such as the labour market, social security and protection, energy capacity, trade policy, environmental preservation, digitalization and its regulation (the EU Chips Act; the Data Act /Data Governance Act, the eIDAS Regulation, the eIDs, etc.);

–       the implementation of the National Resilience and Recovery Plans;

–       the tensions between the green transition and the need for energy security in terms of energy justice;

the stepping up of security and defence coordination, also in response to the US threat of progressively stepping down from its military protection in Europe;

–       the EU’s foreign and security policy and the question of strategic autonomy;

–       the EU enlargement agenda (Eastern and South-eastern perspectives)

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Francesca Feo, Anna Lavizzari

The study of gender and politics is now a widely established field of research. While in some contexts gender and intersectional perspectives are still struggling to be recognised as legitimate in the field of political science, the last few decades have seen a flourishing of national and international projects, publications and courses that privilege gender and intersectional perspectives in the study and teaching of politics and other areas of public life. The impact of the inclusion of “gender” as an analytical category has been to broaden and deepen the scope of political science, enriching it with new research questions and offering a wide range of tools to rethink old questions and approach them through new theoretical and methodological lenses. Indeed, in the last decade, we have seen an increasing politicization of gender and sexuality issues in the international and national public sphere. In this current conjuncture, the international community of gender, LGBT+ and feminist scholars has clearly argued that a focus on gender and sexuality politics is crucial to understand contemporary challenges to democracy, such us the spread of democratic backsliding, the rise of far right politics and the global increase of economic inequalities, but also the recognition of new rights and the implementation of equality policies. Moving from new to old challenges, there is the need to continue exploring how the intersecting power structures in different representative and political institutions affect the functioning of these institutions and ultimately their political outcomes.

This Section, sponsored by the standing group on “Gender and politics”, aims to actively engage with the international advancements of gender and politics community and invites panels and papers proposal focusing on gender, sexuality and intersectionality in politics, academia and other areas of public life. The possible topics include, but are not limited to:

– Methodological innovations for the study of gender, sexuality and intersectionality
– Power, (political) representation and intersectionality
– Gender and intersectional perspectives on political and representative institutions
– Gender (in)equalities and public policy
– LGBTI+ rights, sexuality and queer policies and politics
– Gender, communication and public discourses (online and offline)
– Social movements, activism and dynamics of politicization of issues related to gender and sexuality
– Gender-based violence
– Feminism and democracy
– Gender, intersectionality and sexuality in Higher Education and in political science
– Gender and feminist perspectives in International Relations

To promote an interdisciplinary approach, The Section encourages contact and cooperation with scholars from related fields.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Susanna Pagiotti, Valeria Resta, Irene Costantini, Francesco Strazzari

Religion has recently re-gained the momentum in the political arena, both in the domestic and in the international field. The increased uncertainty resulting from new and old wars, populist drives and renewed ethical debates, reinvigorated the discussion on identity politics, violence and the role played by religion within the public sphere. Moreover, the instrumental use of religious symbols and discourses by political actors emerges in conflicts over the meanings of secularism and secularization.

Attention is therefore drawn to two main facets of this phenomenon, the measures of religious actors actively intervening in the public sphere, and the continuum of uses enacted by non-religious actors to achieve a multiplicity of different material and symbolic purposes, made even more visible in the “platform society”.

Based on this background, the section aims to stimulate an interdisciplinary discussion on the role and meanings of religion within the transformation of contemporary political systems with an international and comparative perspective. Within this broad framework, the section therefore encourages proposals for panels and papers useful for investigating and problematizing the

relationship between religion, politics and conflicts by addressing one or more research topics from the following non-exhaustive list:

 – Public role of religions

– Use of religious symbols/discourses in politics

– Religion, politics and marketing

– Religion and populism

– Churches and political parties

– Religion and (social) media

– Religion and gender

– Religious pluralism

– Religion, rights and freedoms

– Religion and education

– Transnational religious movements

– Religion and international politics

– Religious mobilization and authority between war and peace

– Religious extremism, radicalization and de-radicalization

The Section, promoted by the SISP Standing Groups “Politics and Religion” and “International relations”, fosters interactions and collaborations with scholars from different disciplines, in the logic of an interdisciplinary approach to the topic and contaminations between disciplines. Panels and papers may be in Italian or in English. Panels may include contributions either with a theoretical perspective or empirical analysis. Methodologically, both qualitative and quantitative research approaches as well as contributions based on mixed-methods research designs are welcomed. In addition, panel proposals that present a comparative perspective are particularly encouraged.

Coordinatori e coordinatrici: Mauro Calise, Fortunato Musella

The advent of generative Artificial Intelligence has accelerated and made even more pervasive the penetration of digitalization into the main spheres of associated life. Raising questions that affect the very future of democracy. As AI systems become more advanced and integrated into decision-making processes, communication systems, and governance structures, societies navigate a complex landscape of risks and opportunities. This session will explore the profound transformations triggered by generative AI, focusing on its implications for democratic institutions, public discourse, and regulatory frameworks. While these technologies offer unprecedented opportunities—enhancing efficiency, innovation, and accessibility—they also pose critical challenges, such as the spread of misinformation, algorithmic biases, the erosion of privacy, and the concentration of power in the hands of a few dominant actors.

The panels in this session will address the most significant junctures of the ongoing transformations, including, but not limited to:

• New structures of state sovereignty in the management of cybersecurity
• Ethical and regulatory issues in the regulation of AI platforms
• Data management and privacy protection in different political regimes (US, Europe, China)
  
• Digital warfare: evolution and customisation of weapon systems in the recent war experience
• Digital profiling as a tool for activating and manipulating consent
• The evolution of microtargeting in permanent campaigning
• A new managerial revolution: Digital Twins as a corporate command dashboard
• Geopolitics of Artificial Intelligence: who is in charge in the new IT order
• The impact of the energetic use and misuse of generative AI on environmental policies
• The algorithmic management of work organisation: new technologies for old exploitations
• The evolution of AI enhanced educational systems and models