19th Serbian Political Science Association (SPSA) International Annual Conference
Institutions as Battlegrounds:
State Capture, Resistance and Academic Freedom under Siege
University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science, October 25–26, 2025
Call for panels and papers
We are pleased to announce the call for papers and panels for the upcoming 19th Annual Conference of the Serbian Political Science Association (SPSA).
This year in Serbia has been marked by student blockades and civil protests that encouraged a wider social struggle for institutional accountability, rule of law, university autonomy and solidarity building among diverse social groups. Considering these developments, as well as the recent events in Georgia, Turkey, France, Greece, and the global challenges after the election of Donald Trump as the president of the USA, the title of this year’s conference is “Institutions as Battlegrounds: State Capture, Resistance and Academic Freedom under Siege”.
The aim of the conference is to explore challenges and contestations both within and against institutions in different geopolitical and geo-economic contexts as well as to assess expectations of progressive social change and justice that struggles for institutions have inspired in various social actors (citizens, students, activists).
2025 is a significant year for social engagement, the struggle for justice, and for democracy in Serbia. In addition, the legacy of 5 October 2000, the overthrow of Milošević and his regime, calls for new, fresh insights and analysis 25 years after. We aim to explore, among other topics, the similarities and differences between mass protests of people and political actors in 2000 and student and civil protests in late 2024 and 2025.
We particularly welcome comparative research drawing connections between protests in other political settings across the world, as well as analyses of direct democracy mechanisms in various national and regional contexts. Government responses to protests have ranged from violent repression, as seen in Turkey, to strategic silence or neglect. In other cases, such as Hungary, academic freedom has come under severe threat. We seek to learn from these diverse experiences and understand their implications for resistance and institutional transformation.
The conference will feature two keynote addresses:
Pippa Norris
Harvard University (USA)
Donatella della Porta
The Scuola Normale Superiore (Italy)
Possible thematic areas include (but are not limited to):
- Autocratization, populism and state capture;
- University, academic freedom, higher education and research in the era of (new) authoritarian regimes;
- Student protests and their role in democratic processes;
- Civil society, anti-partyism and political parties;
- Reflection on direct democracy within the protests;
- Institutional transformation: challenges, opportunities and hope;
- Democratic movements as social and political actors;
- 25 years after the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević’s regime;
- New mobilizations and strategies of human/women’s/minority right groups and organizations;
- Emotions in political contestations;
- Institutions as battlegrounds of the emerging world order: values and norms within new arrangement of power and authority;
- Media freedom and the role of journalists in democratic processes;
- The importance of digital platforms and social media in contestation of authoritarian regimes.
Paper and panel proposals:
We are interested in receiving both paper and/or panel proposals. Deadline for submissions is July 15, 2025. Proposals can be sent in English, Serbian, or in the regional languages.
We welcome applications from graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty and research institute staff, and practitioners from a variety of disciplines, including political science, law, international relations, public policy, economics, etc.
Paper proposals should include the proposal (title of the paper, abstract up to 250 words, and 4–5 keywords), and a short author(s) bio (up to 150 words, including position held, academic background, and contact details).
Panel proposal should be submitted by a prospective panel chair, and must include a panel title, a short description of the panel (up to 100 words), three or four paper proposals which should be presented, and a panel discussant. Additionally, short bios of all panel participants should be included (up to 150 words). Panel proposal should be submitted in a single form. Please note that no author should be listed on more than one paper within the same panel.
All paper and panel proposals should be submitted through the online submission form:
All applicants will be notified of the status of their submissions by July 31, 2025.
Conference fee is 70 EUR. The fee should be paid upon confirmation of acceptance of your proposal(s) and no later than September 19, 2025. For SPSA members, doctoral students and researchers from the Western Balkans region there is no fee.
If your proposal is accepted, we kindly request that you share a draft paper with the panel chair by October 15, 2025. The paper should adhere to the typical length of a journal article and will be circulated among the panel participants.
We look forward to your participation in the 19th SPSA Annual International conference.
Important dates:
Abstract submission deadline: July 15, 2025.
Notification sent out by July 31, 2025.
Paper draft sent by October 15, 2025.
Fees due: September 19, 2025
Conference dates: October 25–26, 2025.
International selection committee:
Jelena Lončar, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
Katarina Lončarević, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
Dušan Pavlović, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
Biljana Đorđević, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
Vujo Ilić, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
Sibel Yardımcı, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (Turkey)
Denisa Kostovicova, London School of Economics and Political Science (UK)
Lura Pollozhani, University of Graz (Austria)
Katja Brøgger, Aarhus University (Denmark)
András Bozóki, Central European University (Austria)
Jelena Džankić, European University Institute (Italy)
Agnieszka Stępińska, Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland)
