Party conference 2026

Call for Papers 

Political innovations in parties and party democracy as a response to challenges in political representation and participation.

2026 Annual Conference of the Working Group on Party Research (AKPF) of the German Political Science Association (DVPW) from October 8 to 9, 2026, at the Hertie School in Berlin. The event is organized by Chemnitz University of Technology and financially supported by the Walter de Gruyter Foundation.

Liberal democracies are in a state of profound crisis, as evidenced by contempt for elites, dwindling trust, and the growing success of forces that see themselves as challengers. They are finding it increasingly difficult to generate the input and output legitimacy necessary for their continued existence.

Political parties—as the key mediators between society and governance structures—play a central role in this development. On the input side of a democratic system, where they bundle social interests and ideas and bring them into the state's decision-making process, losses of loyalty and acceptance problems are becoming apparent. On the output side, they face the challenge of growing demands and global problems, which makes it increasingly difficult to link political decisions back to the population.

The AKPF's annual conference focuses on the input dimension of parties, which can be shaped to a greater extent by parties. The main topics are political representation by parties and participation in and around parties. Deficits can easily be identified in both areas. Gaps in representation seem unlikely to be closed. When it comes to participation – from elections to internal party decision-making – it is primarily resource-rich groups that set the tone.

Against this backdrop, the conference will address the following questions on the challenges and possible solutions through reforms and innovations:
- What are the causes of deficits in representation and participation, and what role do parties play in this?
- How are diagnoses of the crisis of democracy and illiberal parties related, and what solutions do they propose?
- Which political innovations promise to remedy the situation, and how do they come about?
- Under what conditions are parties capable of reform?
- What is the relationship between established parties and new innovation actors? (e.g., within parties, civil society, intermediaries)
- How can political innovations succeed and have a broad impact?

The aim of the conference is to take stock of the current state of research, particularly on political innovations in party democracy, and to understand their potential for strengthening political representation and participation.

We welcome theoretical and empirical contributions that address different facets of this issue, such as:
- Representation and participation gaps,
- Internal party recruitment and decision-making processes,
- Barriers to access for people from different sociocultural groups,
- Reform proposals and best practice examples from parties,
- Civil society initiatives in the field of political innovation.

European and international comparative analyses are expressly welcome.

In addition, there will again be an open panel to discuss other topics related to relevant issues in party or party system research. The conference will be a paper-based in-person event. Digital participation will be possible if necessary (hybrid format). We welcome theoretically, methodologically, and empirically diverse contributions from political scientists at all career stages. Since political innovation can be understood as an interdisciplinary research topic, contributions from other disciplines and political practice are welcome. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered for speakers (planned flat rate of 300 €).

Please send your proposals by June 1, 2026, to the AK spokespersons: Benjamin Höhne (benjamin.hoehne@phil.tu-chemnitz.de), Anna-Sophie Heinze (heinzea@unitrier.de), and Uwe Jun (jun@uni-trier.de).