[Commlist] Call for participation - 14th Graduate Spring School & Research conference on Comparative Media Systems: “Autocratization and the Media in the Digital Age”

Call for participation in the post-graduate course and research conference

*14th Graduate Spring School & Research conference on Comparative Media 
Systems: “Autocratization and the Media in the Digital Age”*

IUC, Dubrovnik, 13-17 April 2026

The third wave of autocratization is spreading in democracies and 
deepening in existing autocracies around the world which now outnumber 
democracies 91 to 88 for the first time in 20 years - only 29 countries 
remain liberal democracies (V-Dem, 2025, March). Global freedom has also 
declined for the 19th consecutive year, primarily in relation to 
political rights and civil liberties including freedom of expression.

The current expansion of autocratization is unfolding in the digital 
network society (Castells 2006, 2019), a global space connected by 
various digital communication networks, in which communication 
technologies and services have penetrated all societal domains and 
become unavoidable for most social interactions (Bolin & Hepp 2017). 
This  transformation of communication structures makes the present 
autocratization wave different from the previous ones in terms of its 
practices, strategies and participating actors. This major communicative 
shift has been largely neglected in important studies of autocratization 
in the 21^st  century.

Attempts to repress media freedom appear before visible changes to 
institutions of government and elections in later stages of 
autocratization and provide an early warning. Democratic indicators that 
have substantially declined over the last decade are all related to 
media freedom or freedom of expression, and government censorship of 
media along with media capture have significantly risen, while academic 
and artistic freedom as well as journalistic safety have deteriorated. 
Another important element is increased political polarization, fuelled 
by the dynamics of the hybrid media system, as well as the incursion of 
AI into the communication mix of both editorial media and social media.

The course & research conference will discuss new research 
on autocratization and the media in a comparative fashion.

Course directors:

Zrinjka Peruško, /University of Zagreb/

Carmen Ciller, /University Carlos III - Madrid/

Susanne Fengler, /Technical University Dortmund/

Göran Bolin, /Södertörn University/

Epp Lauk, /University of Tartu/

Paolo Mancini, /University of Perugia/

Slavko Splichal, /University of Ljubljana/

Miklós Sükösd, /University of Copenhagen/

This 14^th  "slow science" IUC-CMS is an interdisciplinary research 
conference & post-graduate course open to academics, doctoral and 
post-doctoral students in media, communication and related fields 
engaged with the issue of media and media systems, that wish to discuss 
their current work with established and emerging scholars and get 
relevant feedback.

Invited research conference participants will deliver keynote lectures 
with ample discussion opportunities. In this unique academic format, 
student course attendees will have extended opportunity to present and 
discuss their current own work with the course directors and other 
lecturers and participants in seminar form (English language) and in 
further informal meetings around the beautiful old-town of Dubrovnik 
(UNESCO World Heritage) over 5 full working days (Monday to Saturday).

The working language is English.

Participation in the course for graduate (master and doctoral) students 
brings 3,5 ECTS credits, and for doctoral students who present their 
thesis research 6 ECTS. The course is accredited and the ECTS are 
awarded by the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb 
(_www.fpzg.unizg.hr <http://www.fpzg.unizg.hr/>_). All participants will 
also receive a certificate of attendance from the IUC.

/Enrolment/

To apply, send a CV and a motivation letter to (zrinjka.perusko /at/ gmail.com) 
Students who wish to present their research should also send a 300 word 
abstract. The course can accept 20 students, and the applications are 
received on a rolling basis. After notification of acceptance you need 
to register also on this web page _https://iuc.hr/programme/1844 
<https://iuc.hr/programme/1844>_.

The IUC requires a small enrolment fee from student participants. 
Participants are responsible for organizing their own lodging and 
travel. Affordable housing is available for IUC participants. Stipends 
are available from IUC for eligible participants, further information at 
_https://www.iuc.hr/iuc-support.php 
<https://www.iuc.hr/iuc-support.php>_. For information on these matters 
please contact the IUC secretariat at (_iuc /at/ iuc.hr) <mailto:(iuc /at/ iuc.hr)>_.

/Venue Information/

The Inter-University Centre was founded in Dubrovnik in 1972 as an 
independent, autonomous academic institution with the aim of promoting 
international co-operation between academic institutions throughout the 
world. Courses are held in all scientific disciplines around the year, 
with participation of member and affiliated universities.

/Additional Information/

For further information about academic matters please contact the 
organizing course director: professor Zrinjka Peruško 
(_zrinjka.perusko /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(zrinjka.perusko /at/ gmail.com)>_, Centre 
for Media and Communication Research (_www.cim.fpzg.unizg.hr 
<http://www.cim.fpzg.unizg.hr/>_), Department of Media and 
Communication, Faculty of Political Science (_www.fpzg.unizg.hr 
<http://www.fpzg.unizg.hr/>_), University of Zagreb (_www.unizg.hr 
<http://www.unizg.hr/>_).

****


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