IPSA’s Regional Conference on the theme Resilience of Democracy in a Polarized World, A Success

Publication date: Wed, 21 Oct 2026

IPSA successfully held a regional conference on the theme Resilience of Democracy in a Polarized World: Populism, Autocratization and Global Challenges in Wrocław, Poland, from 14-16 October 2026, in collaboration with the Polish Political Science Association, the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wrocław and with the support of the Municipality of Wrocław. Verlag Barbara Budrich, Provalis Research and the No to Apathy Project also participated in the conference as exhibitors.

The three-day event brought together 372 scholars from 52 countries, who discussed a broad range of topics related to democracy, polarization, and autocratization. In total, over 300 papers were presented across 87 panels and three roundtables. Women accounted for 46% of the Conference participants.

Manuela Caiani, Associate Professor, Scuola Normale Superiore, addressed conference delegates with her keynote presentation titled Dynamics of Far-Right Transnationalization in Europe. The conference also featured three Local Organizing Committee (LOC) roundtable discussions. In addition, current and former IPSA Executive Committee (EC) members contributed to the Regional Conference in various roles, including as members of the Program Committee, Track Chairs, and Local Organizing Committee.

Closing Remarks

IPSA’s Regional Conference in Wrocław officially concluded with closing remarks from Kim Fontaine-Skronski (Executive Director), Yuko Kasuya (IPSA President and Program Co-Chair), Magdalena Musiał-Karg (IPSA Vice-President and Program Co-Chair), Magdalena Ratajczak (Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Wrocław University), and Piotr Sula (Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Wrocław University). The speakers thanked participants for their contributions, reflected on the success of the conference, and invited them to the 2027 IPSA World Congress of Political Science in Rome.

We would like to thank our 31 student volunteers for their hard work and dedication. They worked tirelessly throughout the three days and provided valuable assistance to delegates, contributing to the success of the conference. During the Closing Remarks, they were invited on stage to be recognized and to take a group photo.

Final Day at IPSA's Regional Conference

Polarization and the Foundations of Democratic Cooperation Panel

Chaired by Przemyslaw Biskup (SGH Warsaw School of Economics), this panel featured IPSA President Yuko Kasuya, who also served as Conference Program Co-Chair. Prof. Kasuya presented her co-authored paper, Distrusting the Out-Party: Partisan Disbelief and Biased Information Processing.

Civil Society and Grassroots Politics

IPSA EC member Laurence Piper chaired the Civil Society and Grassroots Politics panel.

Governance and Humanitarian Crises

Chaired by IPSA Executive Committee member Laurence Piper, the Governance and Humanitarian Crises panel featured RC-EC Liaison Carmelo Cattafi, who presented his paper, Human Rights Beyond the Classical Paradigm: Civil Society and the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Conflicts.