[Commlist] CFP PSG Annual Workshop Reimagining emancipatory politics. Hegemony, Populism, and Political Strategy Today

*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)
<https://www.polsci.auth.gr/democracy-study-lab-en/>and theCentre for 
the study of Democracy, Signification and Resistance (DESIRE) 
<https://www.researchcenterdesire.eu/>

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/ –, including 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 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* 
<http://tinyurl.com/populism25>. 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 /at/ gmail.com)]. *

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