Study Days on Social Movements and Political Participation – IV Edition
May 29-30, 2025 – [Department of Communication and Social Research – Coris], Rome
Call for Papers
For the fourth consecutive year, the SISP Standing Group on Social Movements and Political Participation, in collaboration with the Institute of Political Studies “S. Pio V”, the Department of Communication and Social Research – Co.Ri.S (Sapienza University of Rome) and the Open journal of Sociopolitical Studies Partecipazione e Conflitto (PaCo), is glad to announce the call for papers towards the IV study days edition to be held on May 29-30, 2025, in Rome.
The current era is crossed by countless and multi-level challenges that shape the everyday life of people and territories worldwide. At the global level, wars, conflicts, economic recession and climate crises paved the way for the new rise and consolidation of illiberal regimes. In a context marked by genocide, war escalation, environmental violence, overtourism, social impoverishment, and unbridled deindustrialisation that are socially redefining territories and cities, politics often answers with emergency measures, including repressive measures aimed at repressing and controlling political opponents, migrants, working-class neighbourhoods, and urban areas considered unsafe.
On the other hand, even though in a context of opportunities not favourable, social movements still mobilize around old and new challenges, highlighting the structural dimension of ongoing phenomena, and proposing alternative solutions and narratives. From the solidarity movement for Palestine, which mobilised in a context of moral panic, to the right to the city mobilisations against overtourism and the politics of big events, passing through the student, climate and feminist movements and many others, social movements continue to challenge this system of permanent emergency and to propose and build alternatives.
This IV Edition aims to explore grassroots mobilizations in particular (but not exclusively) related to the topics of war, climate crisis, urban extractivism, gender oppressions, including touristification processes, migration issues and students’ movements, by (also) looking a the the role of media and technology in mobilization, exploring the collective identity building, organizational and repertoire dimensions, repression dynamics, etc. Paper addressing actions, narratives, strategies and networks of these social movements, both in their oppositive and prefigurative dimension are welcome.
Additionally, we seek to engage in discussions and make room for works employing different theoretical approaches, so as to reflect more deeply on how we study grassroots political participation.
We open this Call for Paper for young researchers with an interest in social movements studies and political participation from below, particularly PhD students and post-doc research fellows (no matter if they belong to the Standing Group) who want to share their research projects. Proposals from diverse disciplines are welcome, and there are no limitations regarding geographical area or research methodologies. We encourage young scholars to share papers.
We invite those who are interested to submit a long abstract (1000 words max) to sgmovimentipartecipazione@gmail.com by March 31st, 2025, including a detailed explanation of the theme addressed, the theoretical framework, and the methodology employed.
Acceptance of the proposals will be announced by April 9th, 2025.
A first draft of the paper must be submitted by May 19th 2025
No participation fee is required. There will be a partial reimbursement for accommodation or travel expenses for precarious researchers (more information about the reimbursement and the full program will follow).
In summary:
- Abstract max 1000 words
- To be sent to sgmovimentipartecipazione@gmail.com
- Deadline for abstracts – March, 31st 2025
- Submission full paper May, 19th
