Call for Papers

9th Populism Specialist Group Annual Workshop

2 – 3 October 2025

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Greece

Keynote Speakers

Judith Butler
University of California, Berkeley

Yannis Stavrakakis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Reimagining emancipatory politics
Hegemony, Populism, and Political Strategy Today

9th Annual Populism Specialist Group Workshop
in collaboration with Laboratory for the Study of Democracy (DemLab)
and the Centre for the study of Democracy, Signification and Resistance (DESIRE)

Keynote Speakers

Judith Butler
University of California, Berkeley

Yannis Stavrakakis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

The year 2025 marks forty years since the publication of Hegemony & Socialist Strategy by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, and twenty since Laclau’s On Populist Reason. Both works represented theoretical and political breakthroughs, offering fresh insights into society and political mobilisation, and advancing one of the most influential accounts of populism. Their lasting impact is evident in the ever-growing body of critical literature, as well as the growing international network of scholars and research communities dedicated to engaging with and expanding upon this intellectual tradition.

2025 is also marked by profound challenges – no less urgent than those that inspired Hegemony & Socialist Strategy. These include the setbacks of the radical left after ‘the populist moment’ of the anti-austerity cycle, the reactionary backlash against progressive politics and moral panics surrounding gender, the mainstreaming of authoritarian nationalism, the worsening ecological catastrophe, war, genocide and the loss of human life. These developments underscore a broader context of democratic regression, raising urgent questions about political strategy, the mechanisms that underpin growing right-wing hegemony, the failures of the political centre, and the future prospects for emancipatory politics in all its shapes and forms.

This workshop revisits the theme of hegemony and emancipatory political strategy, including the suitability of populism as a political strategy in our current conjuncture. It seeks to rethink the contributions of Laclau and Mouffe and the broader post-Marxist and post-structuralist tradition, exploring their enduring significance while critically interrogating their limitations, pushing their boundaries and proposing new research directions. We invite both theoretical and empirical contributions, inspired by an interest in the above tradition broadly defined, that critically interrogate political strategy, populism, representation, reactionary politics and emancipatory politics today, and reflect on historical continuities and the specificities of the present conjuncture and the conceptual and strategic answers required to understand and move beyond it.

In light of these challenges, a non-exhaustive list of possible areas could be:

Left-wing strategy after ‘the populist moment’
Institutionalisation of left radicalism and populism
Left populism beyond parties and institutions
Anti-populism: left, right, centre
Rethinking hegemony theory and radical democracy today
Advancements and limitations of discourse theory in relation to contemporary politics
Populism beyond Laclau and the Essex School
Nationalism and patriotism, left and right
Mainstreaming authoritarianism / right-wing hegemonic strategies and how to respond to them
Climate change and environmental politics, left and right
Performative and socio-cultural politics
The role of new forms of media and technology in relation to political subjectivity and strategy

Please submit a 250-word abstract by 14 March 2025 using this form. We will notify applicants by 23 May 2025.

The workshop is free of charge. However, applicants should make their own arrangements for transport and accommodation.

The Populism Specialist Group provides an inclusive, vibrant and critical space for dialogue. We highly encourage junior and emerging, as well as established scholars, from different fields, ethnic backgrounds and regions of the world to participate.

For more information, please contact our convening team [populismpsa@gmail.com].