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People seated at desks with laptops and notebooks during an ECPR conference. A woman in a floral dress is in the foreground

Guidelines and deadlines

The General Conference academic programme offers a platform to share the latest research across all corners of political science, including comparative politics, public policy and administration, political theory, international relations and European studies. The programme is organised into thematic Sections, each made up of Panels that bring together Papers on a shared research question.

How to participate

Proposals

There is a two-stage process for submitting proposals:

Call for Sections 15 October 2025 – 10 November 2025 (midnight UK time)
Call for full Panels and individual Papers 18 November – 5 January 2026 (midnight UK time)

In late February 2026, the Academic Programme will be published on the ECPR website and the participants will be informed of the outcome of their proposals.

A full timetable will be published in April 2026.

Key roles

  • Section Chair – manages and curates proposals for their Section.
  • Panel Chair – facilitates fair, engaging discussion between Paper Presenters and the audience.
  • Paper Presenter – shares their research findings and ideas with the audience.
  • Discussant – engages deeply with each Paper, highlights key insights, and stimulates discussion.

Participation rules

  • Individuals may perform the function of Section Chair and Panel Chair only once.
  • Each Section should have one Chair and one Co-Chair.
  • Section Chair must be from an ECPR Full Member institution.
  • Paper Presenters can present no more than two Papers.
  • Paper Presenters are expected to serve as Discussants for one Paper within their Panel.
  • Participants should ensure their availability for the entire duration of the conference.

Section proposals

15 October – 10 November 2025 (midnight UK time)

  • Each section must have one Chair and one Co-Chair.
  • Only the proposed Section Chair may submit a Section proposal.
  • Individual from an Associate Member or Non-Member institution can only serve as a Co-Chair.
  • Participants should ensure their availability for the entire duration of the conference. Due to the size of the conference we are unable to take individual scheduling requests.

What you'll need

Both Section Chair and Co-Chair need a My ECPR profile. If you don’t already have one, create it here in just a few clicks.

  • Section title (no more than 20 words)
  • An overview of your Section and the description of the Panels planned, including themes (no more than 1,000 words)
  • Section Chair and Co-Chair details, as registered in My ECPR
  • 3–8 keywords*, selected from a predetermined list, indicating the Section's subject, theme and scope
  • Requested number of Panels (3–8**)

Full Panel proposals must be officially submitted by Panel Chairs at the next stage of the application process through our submission link.

*We use keywords to categorise Sections, Panels and Papers, enabling users to search the online programme.

**For Section proposals endorsed by Standing Groups and Research Networks we allow a maximum of 10 Panels.

All Section proposals must be submitted online in English, before midnight UK time on 10 November 2025. Proposers will be notified of the outcome of their submission in mid-November 2025.

It is assumed that all included Panels in the Section proposals are to be held in person at Jagiellonian University. Section Chairs wishing to hold a fully virtual Section should contact our Events Team before the submission deadline.

If you have not received notification by 18 November 2025, please get in touch with our Events Team. Please address any queries regarding the academic content of the proposed Section to the Academic Convenors via the Events Team, before the proposal deadline.

Standing Group endorsements

Standing Groups or Research Networks may endorse only one Section each, however, this can be a joint endorsement with one or more Standing Groups or Research Networks.

Aspiring Section chairs should contact Steering Committee Chairs to seek such endorsement and must confirm the endorsement when submitting the online form.

Role of Section Chairs

Section Chairs will be expected to undertake the following roles:

  • Develop a clear description of the Section’s focus and scope.
  • Evaluate and select Panel and Paper proposals submitted to the Section.
  • Aim for a diversity of gender, geography and career stage.
  • Assign Panel Chairs and Discussants, as appropriate.
  • Organise individual Papers into Panels or assign them to Panels, as appropriate.
  • After registration, review Panels and Papers, merging or creating panels as needed.

Panel and Paper proposals

18 November 2025 – 5 January 2026 (midnight UK time)
  • All Panels provisionally proposed as part of accepted Sections must be formally submitted via the Panel proposal form.
  • Panels should include 3-5 Papers.
  • Papers submitted as part of a Panel do not need to be resubmitted individually.
  • Paper Presenters are expected to serve as Discussants for one paper within their panel.
  • If your Paper has more than one author, the person making the proposal will be listed as the Paper Presenter.

What you'll need

To make a proposal, Panel Chairs/Co-Chairs, Discussants, Paper Presenters and Co-Authors must have a My ECPR profile. If you don’t already have one, create it here in just a few clicks.

Applies to individual Paper proposals:
  • Section number and/or title you wish to propose to, as listed in the Academic Programme
  • Panel title and abstract
  • 3-8 keywords*, selected from a predetermined list, indicating the Panel subject, theme and scope
  • Email address of the Panel Co-Chair and Discussants, as registered in My ECPR
  • Title, abstract and 3–8 keywords* for each Paper
  • Email address of each Paper Presenter and Co-Author (if applicable), as registered in My ECPR

*We use keywords to categorise Panels (as well as Sections and Papers), enabling users to search the online programme.

All Panel and Paper proposals must be submitted online in English, before midnight UK time on 5 January 2026.

What happens next

From 5 December 2025
Section Chairs can view Panels and Papers being proposed to their Section via their My ECPR account.

From 6 January 2026
Section Chairs may approve/decline/reserve Panel and Paper proposals in their Section, Section Chairs have until 29 January 2026 to finalise their Sections via My ECPR.

Approved Papers not submitted as part of a Panel will be allocated by the Section Chairs to an appropriate Panel. Alternatively, Section Chairs will form additional Panels from individual Papers on a similar subject.

Panel and Paper proposers will be notified of the outcome of their submission on or before 3 February 2026.

If your proposal is accepted

Step 1: Register and pay online from 16 March 2026

If one of your co-authors can attend and present in your place, email us to let us know they should be listed as Presenter.

Participants attending and appearing in the Academic Programme as Panel Chair, Panel Discussant and Paper Presenter must register and pay through ECPR's online system before the registration deadline. Those not registered and paid by the deadline will be withdrawn from their Panels.

Section Chairs are not required to attend, but must register and pay if they choose to participate.

For further details, including registration fees, please visit the event homepage.

Step 2: Share your Paper by 15 August 2026

Upload it to the ECPR website via your My ECPR profile or email it to the Panel Chair, Discussant and fellow Paper Presenters to give your fellow Panellists sufficient time to read it.

Please note: Papers uploaded to the ECPR website are only accessible to registered participants via the ECPR Events App. You may delete your Paper(s) at any time via your My ECPR account.

If your Paper has been marked as reserved

We will contact you as soon as possible if a space becomes available in the programme. Unfortunately, it is not possible to determine when this will be.

If you cannot attend

Email us immediately so we can rearrange Papers if necessary.