24th ESPANET Annual Conference

	Date	End	Results
Call for Proposals	4/12/2025	16/01/2026	31/01/2026
Call for Papers	01/02/2026	17/05/2026	31/05/2026
Registration	01/06/2026	10/08/2026	–
Final Programme	15/08/2026	–	–
On-site Conference	26/08/2026	28/08/2026	–

The European Social Model faces growing pressure from global economic tensions, rising military threats, climate change, technological transformation, and AI. At the same time, the rise of radical right-wing and populist movements is reshaping welfare politics, influencing both support for social protection and policy priorities. The 2026 ESPAnet Conference in Lisbon will examine how these changes are redefining the welfare state in Europe, including its purpose, scope and methods of delivering social protection.

With this in mind, we warmly invite colleagues to submit paper proposals that could fit one of the Streams listed below:  

1. Welfare States, Demography and Bodies [more info]

2. Time-Related Social Policies in the World of Work and Care [more info]

3. Providing Social Security for Older People: Interactions of Different Social Policies, their Drivers and Outcomes [more info]

4. Disability, Citizenship, and the Future of the Welfare State in Europe [more info]

5. The Politics of Education [more info]

6. The Matthew Effect in Social and Educational Policies and the Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantages Over the Life Course [more info]

7. Employment Policies and the Quest for a European Labour Market [more info]

8. Families in Transition: Rethinking Social Policy Design [more info]

9. The Role of the European Union in Caregiving and Parenting: What Direction are Family Policies Taking? [more info]

10. New Perspectives on Poverty and Economic Inequality [more info]

11. Pensions in the 21st century: Challenges, Policy Feedback and Political Dynamics [more info]

12. Social Policy Context of Life-Course Transitions [more info]

13. De-Standardization of Retirement Pathways: Conceptual, Institutional, and Life-Course perspectives [more info]

14. Welfare States and Migration: Welfare Attitudes and Welfare Access [more info]

15. Transformative Social Policy in Times of Climate Change [more info]

16. Sustainable Welfare and Eco-Social Policy [more info]

17. Scarring Effects of the Pandemic: Inequality, Poverty, and Social Policy After COVID-19 [more info]

18. Food Insecurity and Food Assistance: The Need for Social Policy [more info]

19. Reconfiguring Welfare in the Triple Transition: Comparative Perspectives from Europe and East Asia [more info]

20. Southern European Welfare Model’ Revisited: 30 Years On [more info]

21. The Future of Social Europe: Policies, Outcomes and Political Legitimacy [more info]

22. The Political Economy of the Welfare State across Time and Space [more info]

23. The Politics of Welfare State Reform [more info]

24. Restructuring Welfare Under Pressure: Juridification, Fragmentation and “Wrong-Pocket” Dilemmas [more info]

25. Territorial Inequalities and the Welfare State: The Spatial Politics of Service Delivery [more info]

26. Data, AI and Digital Infrastructure. Reshaping the Moral Economy of Welfare States [more info]

27. Who Deserves Support? Deservingness, Poverty, and Activation in Contemporary Welfare States [more info]

28. Political Representation of the Poor in Social Policy [more info]

29. Policy Engagement, Knowledge Exchange, and Impact: Strengthening Evidence-Based Social Policy Research [more info]

30. Social Workers and Social Policy: Policy Takers or Policy Makers? [more info]

31. Causal Inference in Social Policy Analysis [more info]

32. The Future of Policy Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence [more info]

33. Teaching Social Policy in Higher Education [more info]

34. Open Stream [more info]

35. ‘Pitch Your Book’ Sessions [more info]

Abstract Submission

Abstract submissions are made in the Conference website, and must cover the following items:

• Title
• Stream
• Author details, per author:
  • Author(s);
  • Affiliation;
  • E-Mail address
• Identification of the Corresponding Author
• Abstract, between 350 and 500 words, (ideally) covering:
  • Research Gap/Research Problem;
  • Aim of the Paper;
  • Research Question;
  • Methodological Approach Adopted
  • (Expected) Main Findings.
• Type of Contribution (Topic)
  • Theoretical Contribution
  • Methodological Contribution
  • Empirical Contribution: Quantitative Study
  • Empirical Contribution: Qualitative Study
  • Empirical Contribution: Mixed Methods
  • Other

Please note that:

• Papers that fall beyond the scope of the Streams 1 to 32 can be sent to the Open Stream;
• Abstract submissions are made through the Ex Ordo platform (accessible through the Conference website (link to page), which requires authors to create an account;
• Abstracts are submitted to one Conference Stream only;
• Authors can submit multiple abstracts, to multiple streams. However, the selection process will be conducted in such a way as to maximize the possibility that as many colleagues participate in the conference as possible;
• Stream organizers are not allowed to present a paper in their own stream.

Selection Procedure:

• Paper proposals will be assessed and ranked by Stream Organisers. However, for logistic reasons, the final decision will be made in consensus with the local Organising Committee. 

More To Come Soon

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Scientific Committee

The work of the Organizing Committee is supported by the members of the Scientific Committee:

Carlos Farinha Rodrigues, University of Lisbon, ISEG Research

Elvira Pereira, University of Lisbon, ISCSP

Alexandra Lopes, University of Porto

Rui Branco, New University of Lisbon Alexandre Afonso, Leyden University

Organizing Committee

If you have any questions regarding the conference, please contact us at:  espanetlisbon@iseg.ulisboa.pt