IPSA Returns to Poland for a Regional Conference on the Resilience of Democracy in a Polarized World

IPSA returns to Poland for a regional conference on the theme Resilience of Democracy in a Polarized World: Populism, Autocratization and Global Challenges, following the successful IPSA World Congress held in Poznań in 2016. The conference will be held from 14 to 16 October 2026 in Wrocław, in collaboration with the Polish Political Science Association and the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wrocław, with the support of the Municipality of Wrocław.

Registration is still open for those wishing to attend the conference as audience members. Reduced registration fees are available to individual members of both IPSA and the Polish Political Science Association (PTNP), as well as faculty members at the University of Wrocław. 

REGISTER HERE

IPSA’s Regional Conference is expected to bring together scholars from more than 50 countries to discuss a broad range of topics across six tracks and over 80 panels. The six tracks and their chairs are:

• Threats and Erosions chaired by Elisa Chelle and Magdalena Musiał-Karg;
• Information, Media, and Technology chaired by Elisa Chelle and Luís de Sousa;
• Citizenship, Participation, and Identity chaired by Laurence Piper and Hasret Dikici Bilgin;
• Institutional and Policy Innovations chaired by Luís de Sousa and Piotr Sula;
• Global and Environmental Challenges chaired by Hasret Dikici Bilgin;
• Local Organizing Committee (LOC) chaired by Magdalena Musiał-Karg and Piotr Sula.

Keynote Address by Manuela Caiani 

Manuela Caiani, Associate Professor at the Scuola Normale Superiore, will deliver a keynote address on the theme Dynamics of Far-Right Transnationalization in Europe on 14 October at 16:45, followed by a welcome reception.

Drawing on research conducted as part of the Neo-authoritarianisms in Europe and the Liberal Democratic Response project (AUTHLIB), Prof. Caiani will examine the mechanisms, channels and processes through which illiberal actors and ideas become transnational. 

Panels of IPSA Executive Committee Members

Current and former IPSA Executive Committee (EC) members have contributed to the Regional Conference in various roles, including as members of the Program Committee, Track Chairs, and members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC).

Political Media Exposure and Digital Mobilization
14 October 2026 | 09:00-10:30 
Former IPSA EC member Emilia Palonen will chair the Political Media Exposure and Digital Mobilization panel.

Whose Bodies, Whose Democracy? Gender Regimes and Institutional Failure
14 October 2026 | 15:00-16:30
IPSA President-Elect Hasret Dikici Bilgin will participate in the Whose Bodies, Whose Democracy? Gender Regimes and Institutional Failure panel to present her paper, Pink but Not Purple: From State Feminism to the Era of Tradwives.

Party Organization and Internal Dynamics
14 October 2026 | 15:00-16:30
IPSA EC member Luis de Sousa will chair the Party Organization and Internal Dynamics panel.

What Citizens Will Trade: Evidence on Democratic Commitment
15 October 2026 | 09:00-10:30
IPSA EC member Berk Esen will chair the What Citizens Will Trade: Evidence on Democratic Commitment panel. 

Populism, Polarization, Autocratization and Democratic Resilience
15 October 2026 | 10:45-12:15
Chaired by IPSA Past President Pablo Oñate, the Populism, Polarization, Autocratization and Democratic Resilience panel features several IPSA EC members, including IPSA President-Elect Hasret Dikici Bilgin, who serves as a discussant.

Presentations

• From Strategic to Systemic Misuse: Referendums as Instruments of Populist Polarization in Poland and Hungary 
• Magdalena Musial-Karg (IPSA Vice-President) 
• Opposition Coordination under Competitive Authoritarianism: Pre-Electoral Alliances in Turkey
  Berk Esen (EC member)
• Polarization (as a Populist Strategy) and Democratic Erosion: The Case of Spain
  Pablo Onate (IPSA Past President) and Carmen Ortega (University of Granada)
• Direct Democracy Integrity Index and the 2022 Referendum in Hungary
  Norbert Kersting (Münster University)

Political Polarization and Ideological Consolidation
15 October 2026 | 10:45-12:15
Chaired by John Forren (Miami University), the Political Polarization and Ideological Consolidation panel includes IPSA EC member Laurence Piper, who will present his paper, The Practical Wisdom of Angry Crowds: From the Irrational Individual to the Prudent Collective.

Working the System: How Parties Shape Parliaments, Careers, and Local Power
16 October 2026 | 10:45-12:15
Former IPSA Vice-President Madalena Meyer Resende will serve as a discussant at the Working the System: How Parties Shape Parliaments, Careers, and Local Power panel.

Polarization and the Foundations of Democratic Cooperation
16 October 2026 | 13:15-14:45
Chaired by Przemyslaw Biskup (SGH Warsaw School of Economics), this panel features IPSA President Yuko Kasuya, who also served as Conference Program Co-Chair. Prof. Kasuya will present her co-authored paper Distrusting the Out-Party: Partisan Disbelief and Biased Information Processing.

Civil Society and Grassroots Politics
16 October 2026 | 13:15-14:45
IPSA EC member Laurence Piper will chair the Civil Society and Grassroots Politics panel. 

Governance and Humanitarian Crises
16 October 2026 | 15:00-16:30
IPSA RC-EC Liaison Carmelo Cattafi will take part in the Governance and Humanitarian Crises panel to present his paper, Human Rights Beyond the Classical Paradigm: Civil Society and the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Conflicts. 

Competition Under Strain: Measuring, Manipulating, and Surviving Elections
16 October 2026 | 15:00-16:30
Former IPSA Vice-President Madalena Meyer Resende will chair the Competition Under Strain: Measuring, Manipulating, and Surviving Elections panel.

LOC Roundtables

The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) will also host three roundtables at the conference:   

• Media, Disinformation, and Digital Technologies in the Polish Public Sphere;
• The Resilience of Democracy in Poland Amid Polarization and Populist Pressure;
• Poland in the Face of Crises of the International and European Order.

In addition, as part of the growing collaboration between IPSA and the Central European Political Science Association (CEPSA), CEPSA will organize a LOC panel on Democratic Resilience and Processes of Autocratization in Central and Eastern Europe and Beyond.

For further information and to register, please visit the conference page on the IPSA website.