Europe at a Crossroads: Integration, Identity and Power in a Fragmenting World

We are pleased to invite submissions for the UACES Graduate Forum Research Conference 2026, which will take place on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June 2026 at Babeș‑Bolyai University (UBB) in Cluj‑Napoca, Romania. The conference will explore how Europe is responding to an increasingly fragmented and competitive international environment. It offers a platform for PhD and Early‑Career Researchers in European Studies to present their work, take part in focused discussions and reflect on the challenges shaping Europe today.

Political division within EU member states, heightened geopolitical tensions and growing pressure on long‑standing international frameworks have raised urgent questions about the European Union’s role, identity and resilience. These developments are reshaping the EU’s internal dynamics and influencing its capacity to act externally, while testing established partnerships and the structures that underpin European and global governance. The conference invites researchers to examine these issues from diverse disciplinary and methodological perspectives and to consider how the EU is navigating this period of uncertainty and change.

The conference is primarily aimed at PhD and Early-Career researchers but there are also up to 5 places available for masters-level students. You do not need to be a member of UACES to attend, however, UACES members can access travel support funding to attend the conference, so you may wish to join to avail of that.

There is a registration fee of £25 to attend this year’s conference. The fee supports catering and venue costs and is not refundable. Funding is available to help with travel and accommodation and we encourage eligible participants to apply.

Call For Papers

The conference welcomes submissions from all disciplines within European Studies and related fields including Political Science, Law, Sociology, Economics, History, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations and Public Policy. We encourage a broad range of approaches to understanding the pressures facing the EU and the possible futures of European governance.

Interested in presenting your research at the Graduate Forum Research Conference? 

Those wishing to attend must submit their paper proposal using the submission form by midnight on 25 March 2026. You will need to provide the title, abstract (max 250 words) and select a key theme of your paper at the time of submitting your proposal, but do not need to have a completed paper at this point.

If your paper is accepted, we will require a copy of it at least 2 weeks prior to the conference so that it can be shared with your discussant and fellow panel members. Papers should be 6,000-8,000 words long, word-processed, 1.5 spaced and sized to A4. Working drafts of papers are acceptable as the conference aims to provide delegates with constructive feedback on their research.

The Call for Papers closes on 25 March 2026. We are operating rolling submissions and registrations this year, which means participants may submit earlier and receive decisions sooner. This approach allows presenters to plan their attendance with greater certainty.

The conference provides a platform for young and emerging scholars to investigate the pressures shaping Europe today and to contribute to wider debates about the EU’s future. UACES particularly welcomes proposals from BIPOC academics, scholars from under‑represented geographies including the Global South and researchers from disciplines that have lower representation at UACES events such as anthropology, cultural studies and history.