Polarization around new lines of conflict and the emergence of radical, often populist challenger parties are indicating a fundamental restructuring of European politics. However, these social and political conflicts are not only visible in changes in the party system and electoral behavior, but have an impact on and are driven by mobilization and participation in non-electoral arenas as well, such as in protests (online and offline) or referendums.

The workshop “Under pressure: Electoral and non-electoral participation in polarizing times” aims to provide new insights to these developments by bringing together established and younger researchers from various sub-disciplines of political science and sociology. Contributions to the workshop engage with the concept of political polarization in elections, protests, referendums, and other sites of mobilization.

In light of the current situation, the workshop will be held online with one morning and one evening panel on 25 and 26 June. The event is open to the wider scientific community subject to prior registration. This digital event is organized by the Center for Civil Society Research at FU Berlin & WZB (Endre Borbáth, Swen Hutter) and the Center Political Sociology of Germany at FU Berlin (Arndt Leininger).