Observing (De)Polarisation: Empirical Lessons from a New Generation of European Research
Edited by Teresa Gil-López, Tamara Kunić and María Luengo
COST Action DepolarisingEU (CA22165) – Redressing Radical Polarisation: Strengthening European Civil Spheres facing Illiberal Digital Media – invites abstract submissions for a new edited volume. The call is open until 30 November 2026.
Book Rationale
How can current research on polarisation in Europe inform our understanding of how to study and observe (de)polarisation going forward? European scholarship has built a large body of empirical evidence on polarisation. Yet that evidence is rarely read across countries or against the academic and political contexts that shaped it. Depolarisation also remains thinly studied and inconsistently defined, and it is often conflated with de-radicalisation or democracy-building. We think it is time to turn existing findings into better tools for observation. The goal is not another account of why societies polarise. It is a clearer sense of how to detect, measure, and compare movement toward or away from pernicious forms of polarisation.
The central question of the book invites authors to examine what the field’s conceptualisations, data, methods, and empirical contexts reveal about the phenomenon we seek to define and measure. Chapters should show how specific research choices shape our understanding of polarisation and what this implies for future study.
We break the central question down into four sub-questions that build towards some form of systematisation. Each chapter should address at least one:
- What are we observing? How are polarisation and depolarisation defined and operationalised in empirical research?
- How are we observing it? Which methodological approaches and kinds of data best capture (de)polarisation?
- Where and under what conditions? How do European political contexts shape polarisation and the ways it is studied?
- How do we recognise depolarisation? What empirical evidence shows that radical polarisation is weakening, and how can it be observed over time?
The book is empirical and European in scope. We encourage contributors to use different (and new) methodological approaches and different (and new) kinds of data. Cross-national perspectives are especially welcome, and single-country studies should place their findings within a broader European context.
A key aim of the book is to combine a European perspective with a younger, next-generation perspective. We invite young researchers, individually or in collaboration with other young researchers, to send their own abstract: the idea should come from them. We strongly encourage them to reach out to potential senior co-authors and enquire about their interest. If they do not find one, we as editors will help circulate the abstract and find a pairing with a senior scholar. Senior co-authors will act as mentors, guiding the conception of the chapter and improving its design, while keeping the original idea and perspective of the young researcher(s). Young researchers from outside the Action are also welcome to submit proposals, including at the suggestion of senior members, but will need to join the Action first.
Submission Guidelines
Please send the following to maria.luengo@uc3m.es, tgil@hum.uc3m.es and tamara.kunic@vern.hr by 30 November 2026:
- Title and abstract (max. 400 words), indicating the sub-question(s) addressed.
- Author names, affiliations and career stage.
- Name of the senior co-author, if already identified.
Key Dates
- 30 October 2026: Call for chapters opens.
- 30 November 2026: Abstract submission deadline.
- Early January 2027: Notification of acceptance and confirmation of author-mentor pairs.
- February 2027: Book workshop.
- Spring 2027: Full chapters due (6,000–8,000 words).
Chapters may be submitted to our final COST Action conference in September.
Declaration of AI use
Book authors must disclose their intent to use Generative AI tools at the earliest possible stage—ideally at the book proposal phase or during manuscript writing—to the editors for approval. If the use of AI is approved, the author must include a formal statement in the preface or introduction of the book.
The declaration must specify:
- The full name of the AI tool used (including the version number).
- How the tool was used.
- The reason why it was used.
Authors remain fully accountable for the originality, accuracy, validity, and integrity of the work (including citations and references).
The editors hold discretion over decisions to drop contributions due to undue AI use at all stages of the process.
Note for authors: We intend to publish the volume open access.
Further Documentation
The presentation of the call, introduced at the DepolarisingEU Young Researchers meeting in Thessaloniki (23 October 2026), is available for download below:
