CALL FOR PAPERS: Second Annual Conference of COST Action CA23149“After 2 Years: Current State and Challenges of Research on Anti-Gender Politics”

CALL FOR PAPERS
Second Annual Conference of COST Action CA23149
“After 2 Years: Current State and Challenges of Research on Anti-Gender Politics”

When: 28–29 January 2027

Where: Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

The second annual conference of COST Action CA23149 will bring together the network to discuss progress in comparative research on anti-gender politics across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Near and Middle East (NME). We welcome papers that compare cases, identify cross-regional patterns, or advance conceptual and methodological approaches to comparison.

Participation & reimbursement.

Members of the working groups involved in the project are invited to attend the event in person. Those whose presentations are selected via this call for papers will be able to claim travel reimbursement via the e-COST system. Travel costs will be reimbursed according to the CA’s rules (see annotated rules).
The two-day event will comprise panel sessions for each working group, during which scholars will be able to present their current research. The conference will feature a session particularly for young scholars, they will be also prioritized in the selection process.
We are calling for propositions to the streams of each working group. Each working group will hold a panel, and members of the action are invited to propose papers within groups' thematic scope:

WG1 “Revealing the historical, social-political and economic background conditions”

• How do historical, socio-political and socio-economic conditions shape the emergence, development and reproduction of anti-gender and anti-feminist mobilizations? What role do experiences of crisis, insecurity and wider processes of societal transformation play?
• How do anti-gender actors draw on historical legacies, collective memories and earlier political or social conflicts? What continuities and transformations can be identified across different national and regional contexts?
• Under what political and institutional conditions do anti-gender mobilizations gain influence, and what effects do they have on societies and political regimes? How does the framing of gender as a “culture war” reshape or obscure the social and economic dimensions of gender equality?

WG2 “Deciphering the triangle of state, civil society and anti-gender actors”

• How do state institutions, political elites, civil-society organizations and anti-gender actors interact in advancing, institutionalizing or legitimizing anti-gender agendas?
• What roles do politicized religion, conservative NGOs, religious institutions and faith-based movements play in shaping state discourses, public policies and governance practices concerning gender and sexuality?
• What constellations of anti-gender politics can be identified across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Near and Middle East (NME), and how do relations between state, political, religious and civil-society actors differ across contexts?

WG3 “Rethinking activism and forms of opposition with a focus on unexpected allies”

• How are feminist/queer (and non-feminist/queer) oppositions forming against anti-gender politics? What is their agenda/strategies/framings? How do proactive and reactive strategies come together?
• What kind of coalition partners emerge and what is the potential for widening these coalitions? What kind of power effects do these diverse opposition groups, strategies and coalitions have over wider political regimes?
• What role do economic actors (incl.corporations and businesses), local governments, and other non-governmental actors play in the formation of prodemocratic coalitions?

WG4 “Dissemination and outreach activities”

• What innovative, creative or participatory strategies can be used to engage non-academic audiences, media, stakeholders and policymakers? How can such strategies proactively anticipate and respond to anti-gender messages and mobilization, and what challenges arise in their implementation?
• Where are the opportunities for grassroots communication and mobilization of the wider public? Who can become allies, “converts” or unexpected partners, and how can messages supporting gender and sexual equality reach broader audiences?
• What can we learn from previous cases of innovative, creative or participatory engagement — such as deliberative forums, digital storytelling or other public-facing formats? How can successful approaches be adapted across different political and social contexts, including lessons from the communication strategies used by anti-gender movements?

SUBMISSION

Abstracts of 250–300 words should state the main argument, methodology and/or conceptual framework, and indicate the Working Group to which the proposal is addressed. Proposals may be submitted to one WG stream only.

Deadline: 28 October 2026

Submit: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/z52wq7080A