Call for papers - CEE Doctoral Days 2026

Who mediates between citizens and politics - and how are these relationships changing?

At a time when established forms of political intermediation are being challenged and new ones are emerging, the 2026 Doctoral Days at CEE, Sciences Po will explore how relationships between citizens and politics are being reconfigured: who mediates, how representative claims are constructed and received, and what changing forms of mediation mean for democratic participation and political representation.

Under the theme Connecting Citizens and Politics: Mediation and Political Representation in Contemporary Democracies, we aim to bring together PhD researchers working on these shared questions across different areas of political life. A central purpose of the Doctoral Days is to put diverse empirical fields into dialogue, bringing together different theoretical and methodological approaches to mediation and representation.

The call is organised around four themes:

• Party-based linkage amid political disintermediation
• Democratic innovations and the reimagining of mediation
• Mediating the green transition
• Credibility in representation: experience, expertise, and trust

We welcome contributions that cut across these themes or examine political mediation and representation in other empirical contexts. The call is open to doctoral researchers in political science, political sociology, public policy, and related fields, at different stages of their PhD.

The Doctoral Days will take place on the 17th and 18th of December. Participants from outside Paris are welcome to apply. We expect to be able to contribute towards travel and/or accommodation costs for selected participants. Further information on financial support will be provided upon acceptance.
 

Full Call for papers (PDF, 36 ko)