EASP General Meeting 2026: Strasbourg pre-conference

The psychology of reaction: Exploring reactionary social movements through social psychological frameworks

Reactionary social movements have gained momentum globally in recent years, emerging in opposition to progressive social change and seeking to restore traditional values, identities, and power structures. These include far-right, anti-immigration and anti-gender movements that centre nationalism, traditionalism and white supremacy, and resistance to feminist progress, and LGBTIQ+ rights (to name a few). This preconference will bring together researchers interested in understanding the emergence, appeal, and persistence of reactionary movements, as well as strategies to counter their influence. 

What to expect

The preconference will feature:

• A keynote address by Professor Julia Becker (University of Osnabrűck)
• A series of talks and blitz presentations from attendees
• A roundtable discussion focused on key challenges and opportunities in this area (including further collaboration opportunities within our community)

Call for abstracts

Deadline for submissions: 5th January 2026

We welcome submissions for 15-minute talks (empirical or theoretical research) and 5-minute blitz presentations (work in progress, emerging theoretical or methodological developments). 

Abstracts (up to 1,500 characters including spaces) can be submitted via this link. 

Please note that each participant may register for only one pre-conference (fee: €60) and must also register for the General Meeting (see fee information here).

We particularly encourage submissions from scholars in Central and Eastern Europe, North and Latin America, and other regions where reactionary social movements are active but under-examined. We also welcome contributions from early-career researchers and scholars from historically marginalised groups, and the use of diverse methods and theoretical approaches.
 

Submit your abstract

Key dates

5th Jan 2026 – abstract submission deadline 
25th Jan 2026 – notification of acceptance decisions 
27th Mar 2026 – final program announced 
30th June 2026 – event date

Organisers

Gosia Mikołajczak (Australian National University) 
Morgana Lizzio-Wilson (University of Exeter) 
Emma Thomas (Flinders University) 
Charlie Pittaway (Flinders University) 
Bridget Ramsey (Flinders University) 
Kieren Lilly (University of Queensland) 

For queries, please contact the organising team: Gosia Mikolajczak (Gosia.Mikolajczak@anu.edu.au) and Morgana Lizzio-Wilson (m.lizzio-wilson@exeter.ac.uk).