Call for Papers and Sessions: 16th European Social Science History Conference, Lyon, France; Politics, Citizenship and Nations Network

From Far-left to Far-right Revolutions in Political History: Continuities and Disruptions of Citizenship, Nation States and Democracies 

The year 2027 marks 110 years since the February and October Revolutions in Russia, prompting us to reflect critically on the long-term consequences of both far-left and far-right revolutions. These revolutions, in a complex interplay, have shaped more than two centuries of modern global politics, citizenship, democracy, and the nation-state system. Current political disruptions of “far-right” movements and populist governments fundamentally alter the post-World War II liberal international order and its rules of the game. Yet, as recent research shows, both in the interwar period and in the contemporary world, far-right politics emerged in reaction, not to liberalism, but to the conservative parties unable or unwilling to ensure the continuation of conservative policies. For the 16th European Social Science History Conference in Lyon, the Politics, Citizenship and Nations Network seeks to explore, from a longue durée perspective, the global crisis of democracy, and root causes of current challenges of the nation-state system, especially the brutal erosion of human rights and international diplomacy in a new, illiberal era.

The digital disruptions in the 21st century have changed our sense of citizenship and privacy, state security and surveillance, and interstate warfare. The AI ethics, algorithms, and data justice have changed our sense of humanity and put to the test the racial and social equality in multicultural societies. Data on social media platforms has disrupted the mainstream and official media, crossed national borders without restrictions, and empowered social movements on both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. These phenomena deepen the political polarization of societies worldwide and allow politicians and big tech companies to capitalize on these divisions in times of fear and uncertainty. Are we at another historical turning point or revolutionary change of the world system? Could we find any comparable historical patterns that transformed citizenship, political and civil rights, and modern collective identities during past crises across political, economic, environmental, and social spheres?

For ESSHC 2027, we welcome proposals for papers and sessions that engage with the themes of revolutions, extremism, disruptions, crises, environmental and energy security, polarization, collective identities, and any other topics in political history, in any historical period or geographical context. We encourage papers and session proposals with both theoretical and empirical approaches to political history.

Panel proposals should feature 3-4 presentations, a discussant, and a chair. Individual paper proposals, not affiliated with pre-formed panels, are particularly welcome. We gladly co-sponsor sessions with other ESSHC networks and encourage proposals for workshops, roundtables, Meet-the-author sessions, book launches, and alternative session formats. We value diversity both in the focus of panels (themes, geographical and chronological scope, theoretical and methodological approaches, etc.) and in their social composition (nationality and academic affiliation, gender, career stage, etc.). Thus, we may reorganize or reject proposals for sessions composed of participants from the same university or from a single country presenting papers on that country. Priority will be given to papers and panels presenting research that has not been previously published. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches to the past, but all papers and sessions must demonstrate a clear historical focus.

The deadline to submit your proposal and pre-register on the conference website is 15 April 2026. To guarantee consideration of full session proposals, please ensure that all participants send in their abstracts and pre-register by the deadline, indicating the name of the session to which their paper belongs. Because we receive  many more submissions than we can accommodate, the Politics network cannot guarantee consideration of proposals for more than two sessions on a single theme.

For general information on the ESSHC, proposal submission, and pre-registration online please go to the ESSHC Conference website or contact the Conference secretariat (esshc@iisg.nl). Otherwise, contact us (a.heyer@hum.leidenuniv.nl, and nivesrumenjak78@webster.edu) to discuss your session ideas.