Annual Conferences

EGPP Annual ConferencesEach year, at the European University Institute in Florence, the European Governance and Politics Programme (EGPP) hosts an Annual Conference that focuses on a crucial theme for the European Union. This is part of the EGPP’s strategy to promote engagement on contemporary issues through various types of events. Speakers are selected by invitation, with the exception of the Annual Conference 2020-2021 which was organized exclusively through a call for paper, in order to increase the outreach of EGPP and include young scholars across Europe and beyond. 

The inaugural (2018) Annual Conference, ‘2017: Europe’s Bumper Year of Elections’, organized by Brigid Laffan and Lorenzo Cicchi, was held on 8-9 March 2018. It alternated a series of election country-specific panels with thematic ones, devoted to specific elements that characterized the political and electoral scenario of 2017. An edited volume, containing a selection of the papers presented during this conference and divided into country-specific and thematic chapters, was then published.

The second (2019) Annual Conference ‘Effects of multilevel governance’ brought together cutting-edge research on the political, social, and cultural consequences of multilevel governance on 23-24 May 2019. The conference, organized by EGPP Associates Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks, explored three themes, namely how multilevel governance affects the structure of political conflict, ethno-territorial conflicts and social solidarity.

The third (2020-2021) Annual Conference, ‘Europe’s changing political system and issue space. What lessons from the 2019 European elections?’, took place as a virtual event on 25-26 February 2021. The conference, entirely composed by papers selected through a call for papers, was organized by Lorenzo Cicchi, Brigid Laffan and EGPP Associates Diego Garzia and Alexander H. Trechsel.

Below you can explore programmes, participants and multimedia from the Annual Conferences.

1st Annual Conference: ‘2017: Europe’s Bumper Year of Elections’︱8-9 March 2018

Europe's Bumper Year of ElectionsThe first Annual Conference, held at the European University Institute on 8-9 March 2018, alternated a series of election country-specific panels with thematic ones, devoted to specific elements that characterized the political and electoral scenario of 2017.

Organizers: Brigid Laffan and Lorenzo Cicchi

2nd Annual Conference: ‘Effects of Multilevel Governance Conference’ | 23-24 May 2019

Multilevel GovernanceThe second Annual Conference, which took place at the European University Institute on 23-24 May 2019, brought together cutting-edge research on the political, social, and cultural consequences of multilevel governance.

Organizers: Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks

3rd Annual Conference: ‘Europe’s changing political system and issue space. What lessons from the 2019 European Elections?| 25-26 February 2021

The third Annual Conference, which took place at the European University Institute on 25-26 February 2021, presents high-level scholarly research on, broadly, the drivers and consequences of the electoral results of May 2019, as well as the European political space and its (reshaped?) dimensionality. Simon Hix, who will join the EUI in September 2021 as Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics gave a keynote speech. 
Organisers: Lorenzo Cicchi, Diego Garzia,  Brigid Laffan and Alexander H. Trechsel