Humanity at a Turning Point: Reaffirming or Reimagining Political Common Sense?
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
CEU’s Annual Doctoral Conference (ADC) provides an interdisciplinary space to present works in progress, receive constructive feedback, and form connections for future research.
This year's theme homes in on notions of common sense as the often-unquestioned baseline that structures political judgment, voting behavior, policy design, and institutional practice, and the effects of which vary across time, place, and political systems. How do we destabilize prevailing conceptions of common sense, and what sort of knowledge is required to navigate our present moment? What new understandings of common sense can engender openings to tackle social, cultural and environmental challenges, and how can they help us move towards more just and sustainable futures? How do we make common sense ‘political’ and how do we guard against its abuses? Is it a notion worth saving at all? Paper proposals do not have to speak directly to the idea of political common sense, yet a reflection on the issues above should guide the applicant’s thinking.
Format: In person
Location: Vienna, Central European University
Dates: 27–29 April 2026
WHO CAN APPLY
We invite PhD students and early-career researchers to submit (working) paper proposals. As the conference is organized by the Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy and International Relations, we welcome all works from these areas, as well as proposals from any other discipline in the Social Sciences or Humanities that broadly relate to the conference’s theme: “Humanity at a Turning Point: Reaffirming or Reimagining Political Common Sense?”.
There is no registration fee. Please note that the conference does not provide funding for travel or accommodation.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES - DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 26
Abstracts should discuss the general aim of the research; how the research fits into the scholarly literature; the conceptual, theoretical, methodological or empirical approaches used; and the (preliminary) results, if applicable.
Abstract proposals should include:
- A working title.
- An abstract of up to 500 words describing the proposed research.
- Author & co-authors full name, position, and institutional affiliations and email addresses.
- Up to three keywords.
Submission guidelines:
- Abstracts should be rendered in .docx or .pdf and follow this file name format:
(LAST NAME_First Name_Institution_ADC2026).
- CEU doctoral students: submit via online form
- Non-CEU doctoral students: submit to adc2026@ceu.edu
PAPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES - DEADLINE: APRIL 8
Accepted applicants will need to submit conference papers by April 8, 2026.
The organizers will endeavor to provide a discussant for each of the accepted papers.
Paper submissions should:
- Be a maximum of 8000 words.
- Include a working title; the author’s full name, position, and institutional affiliation.
- Include an abstract and three keywords.
- Be appropriately formatted.
- Be properly referenced in the style of the author’s choosing.
- Follow the standard file name format as for abstracts and be rendered in .docx or .pdf.
Submission guidelines:
- Papers should be rendered in .docx or .pdf and follow this file name format:
(LAST NAME_First Name_Institution_ADC2026).
- Submit to adc2026@ceu.edu
CONTACT
For questions not addressed here, please contact adc2026@ceu.edu
