A conference in honor of the work of Donatella Della Porta, call for papers
3-4-5 June 2026
COSMOS, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences,
Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy
The theoretical and methodological tools which have been essential components of research in social movement studies are incessantly challenged as multiple crises intersect, transforming our social, political and cultural landscapes. As neoliberalism, pandemics, war, genocide, climate change, right-wing backlash challenge many achievements of progressive social movements, people actively mobilize against intersecting
inequalities and democratic backsliding in the streets, schools, universities, factories, rural areas, neighbourhoods, institutions and online. This conference seeks to provide a space for discussing research in contemporary societies in intense times – i.e. in moments of extraordinary political and social upheaaval – by addressing key questions in social movements research:
The conference will open with a plenary panel with the participation of Donatella Della Porta (Scuola Normale Superiore /COSMOS), Mario Diani (Università di Trento), Olivier Fillieule (University of Lausanne), Michael Keating (University of Aberdeen) and Sidney Tarrow (Cornell University).
In the evening, participants will be invited to a social event. The Conference has no fees. Travel and accommodation costs are not covered. We invite submissions from different theoretical, disciplinary and methological perspectives. To submit an abstract please email the organizers with an abstract of no more than 250 words.
We are also looking for volunteers to be discussants! If interested, please email to the organizers.
The deadline for all abstract submissions is October 15, 2025. Participants to the Conference are required to write and submit a max. 7000-8000-word paper no later than 15th of May 2026, papers should be sent to cosmos@sns.it .
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