AFPP 2026 Call for Papers

Overview

AFPP is an international, cross-disciplinary conference on social movements, protest and related topics. Since 1995, it has drawn participants from over 60 countries, representing fields such as sociology, politics, cultural studies, psychology, economics, history, and geography, as well as from grassroots and political organisations. Discussions are marked by a long-established spirit of collegial and comradely participation, making for a friendly meeting ground between academia and activism.

The 2026 conference will be held in Manchester on June 15-17, 2026. We look forward to welcoming delegates to the city, continuing the tradition of exchange and collective reflection that characterises this conference.  There will be a delegate fee (to be finalised; as a reference point, 2025 Conference fee was set at £50) to cover catering and other essential costs.  

Key Themes

We invite paper proposals relevant to the broad conference theme, addressing topics such as:

• Contemporary or historical movements and protests from any global region
• Theories of social movements, labour movements and revolution
• Utopias, experiments in alternative living and everyday politics
• Ideologies, imaginaries and strategies of collective action
• Opposition to discrimination and confrontations with capitalism, patriarchy or coloniality

How to participate?

To submit a paper, please send a title, abstract (max 300 words) and 4-6 keywords to the organising committee via this google form. 

Once your abstract is accepted, you will be invited to submit a written paper in advance of the conference. Kindly note that the submitted paper will be shared with all participants. Submission of the full paper is encouraged while it remains voluntary.  This will take the form of fully referenced working papers between 6,000 and 8,000 words in length, submitted in MS Word (.docx), Adobe PDF (.pdf), or another compatible format. However, we also welcome alternative form of submission – e.g. extended notes or presentation slides – provided they clearly communicate your main argument and evidence without requiring specialist software.

Key Deadlines

Deadline for abstract submission: December 19, 2025

Deadlines for registration:

• Presenters: April 14, 2026
• Non-presenters: June 6, 2026

Please do not email abstracts; kindly use the submission form linked above. We aim to respond by February 2026.

For queries by email: afpp@manchester.ac.uk

The AFPP 2026 Organising Committee are: Josie Bunting, Gemma Edwards, Simin Fadaee, Kevin Gillan, Guyeon Kang, Lidia Yanez Lagos, Wangshu Liu, Morgan Powell, Steven Speed, Meghan Tinsley, Daniela Fazio Vargas and Luke Yates