Protests and Social Movements between Innovation and Tradition
(Preliminary) Conference Program
The conference will take place at the University of Bremen, Forum am Domshof. Conference languages are German and English.
Registration is now open to everyone. Please check the details at the end of this post.
Wednesday 1 October 2025: 13:00 – 13:30
Welcome and introduction by the conference organizers
Wednesday 1 October 2025: 13:45 – 15:15
Session 1, Room 1
Protests in Non-Democratic Regimes I
- Daniel Morgenstern, Theresa Gessler, Leander Kraft: Opposition in Contentious Episodes of Autocratization
- Mohsen Amiri, Tareq Sydiq: Be-Sharaf: The Grammar of Revolutionary Disrespect / A Multi-Method Discourse Study of Gendered Profanity, Performativity, and Ideological Rupture in Iran’s 2022 Jina Uprising
- Mariia Kalugina: From Petitions to Protest: The Mobilizing Effects of Authoritarian Ambivalence
- Abdelkarim Amengay, Ibrahim Khatib, Mazen Hassan, Mark Tessler: Why Do We Protest? For a Comprehensive Explanatory Multi-Level Model
Session 1, Room 2
Climate Protests I
- Eva-Lotte Schwarz: Does Strategy Matter? Agentic Perspectives on the Contestation of Fossil Fuel Corporations
- Felix Anderl: Medium Confidence: Climate Justice Activism, Radical Flanks, and the Difficulties of Theorizing Protest Outcomes
- Sebastian Koos, Adrian Rinscheid: Pushed by urgency, pulled back by radical actions: Unveiling public perceptions of climate activism
- Henri Mütschele: Claiming Legitimacy: Continuities and Adaptations in Argumentative Strategies of German Climate Movements
Session 1, Room 3
The Contentious Politics of Palestine and Israel Solidarity in Germany
- Clemens Arzt: Freedom of Speech and Assembly after October 7, 2023 – When “Reason of State” (Staatsräson) beats Law
- Maren Wegner, Daniela Hunold, Aaron Reudenbach: Legitimizing Repression: Ethnic Framing and the Racialization of Pro-Palestine Protest in Berlin
- Vittoria Caradonna: Forbidden words, forbidden thoughts. Memory, solidarity and lessons to unlearn in Berlin.
- Jannis Julien Grimm, Lilian Mauthofer, Thaddäa Sixta, Elias Steinhilper: Silences, Segmented Publics, and Conflicting Representations: The Contentious Politics of Palestine Solidarity in Berlin
- Jannis Julien Grimm, Lilian Mauthofer: From the Classroom to the Streets: The Securitization of German Higher Education through the Prism of Palestine Solidarity
Session 1, Room 4
Politisierung jenseits von Antagonismus und Disruption
- Kai van Eikels: Versammeln ausgehend von unseren Schwächen: Workshop-Kollektivität als Präfiguration eines besseren Lebens
- Madeleine Sauer: Alltagspraxen als Politisierung jenseits von Antagonismus und Disruption? Intersektional-hegemonietheoretische Perspektiven
- Helge Schwiertz: Horizontale Citizenship: Eine Revision politischer Subjektivität anhand urbaner sozialer Bewegungen
- Judith Vey: Drei Möglichkeiten der Hegemonialisierung und ihre Anwendbarkeit zur Analyse nicht-antagonistischer Politisierungsprozesse
15:15 – 15:45: Coffee Break
Wednesday 1 October 2025: 15:45 – 17:15
Session 2, Room 1
Protests in Non-Democratic Regimes II
- Angelina Kozlovskaia: Invasion as a Disaster: War Discontent in Russia’s Kursk Region
- Ilker Kalin: Manufacturing Consent: Polarization and the New Toolkit of Protest Repression
- Anupam Debashis Roy: The Unvanquished: Why did Bangladesh’s July Uprising Thrive under Repression where Prior Student-led Movements Demobilised?
- Bernadett Sebaly: Why Some Housing Struggles Succeed: A Comparative Case Study of Movement Strategies in Hungary between 1987 and 2024
Session 2, Room 2
Climate Protests II
- Ceren Cevik: Environmental Injustice and Digital Resistance: Social Media Discourses on Displacement in Turkey
- André Schmale, Karoline Augenstein, Boris Bachmann: Fridays for Future and the Narrative Struggle over the Future: Continuity and Innovation in Climate Protest Discourse
- Sophia Hunger, Daniel Saldivia Gonzatti, Carina Siebler: Mediatized Radical Flank Effects: How Radical Protests Affect Media Portrayals of Social Movements
- Nicole Milman-Doerr: Visual, Digital Technologies, and Diffusion: FFF vs the far right; Germany, Austria, Sweden
Session 2, Room 3
Sudent and Youth Movements
- Beatriz Fernandes da Silva: A Site of Learning and of Protest: The Evolution of Student Activism at the University of Amsterdam, 2015–2025
- Egesu Sayar-Aydeniz: Repertoire of Memory in Contemporary Student Movements in Turkey
- Rabia Yazar, Dursun Can Şimşek: From Gezi to Saraçhane: Evolving Practices of Resistance — A Comparative Analysis of Protest Repertoires in Turkey
Session 2, Room 4
Roundtable: Gegenöffentlichkeit gestern und heute
- Tanja Thomas
- Jan Bönkost
- Marlene Strehler-Schaaf
Moderation: Armin Scholl and Simon Teune
Session 2, Room 5
Historical Perspectives
- Mathis Ebbinghaus: Decoupling social movements from modernity: a critical reappraisal of Charles Tilly’s theory on the origins of social movements
- Dieter Rucht: Repertoires of Protest from the 14th Century to the Present in Europe: Description and Explanation
- Aaron Augsburger: Plurinationalism and the temporalities of social change in Bolivia
Wednesday 1 October 2025: 17:30 – 18:30
Keynote Address: Knud Andresen, Forschungsstelle für Zeitgeschichte Hamburg
18:30 – 19:30: Reception
Thursday 2 October 2025: 09:00 – 10:30
Session 3, Room 1
Protests in Non-Democratic Regimes III
- Ayat Mirzaie: The Publicization and Convergence of Social Movements in Iran: Innovative Dynamics and Continuity in Collective Action
- Niko Vandebos, Anna Kern: Conceptualising „shrinking space“
- Zahra Babaei: Beyond Repression: The Middle Class and the Failure of the Democratic Movement in Post-Zhina Iran
Session 3, Room 2
Global Mobilizations for Democracy and the Climate: Rethinking Justice, Transformation and Agency Beyond the Human
- Bob Kurik, Lucia Roncikova: Kiltra resistance: Doing autonomous politics with street dogs in post-uprising Chile
- Nicole Milman Doerr: Nature as a Third constituting subject for democracy in North/South climate activism
- Nasima Selim, Amirul Rajiv, Naim Ul Hasan, Pavel Partha: Breathing Resistance in Dhaka: Toxic Elements, Fighting for Green Space and More than Human Right to Respiration in Bangladesh
- Sabrina Zajak: Prefiguring Eco-Democratic Knowledge Practices: Wilderness Camps as Laboratories for Transformative Democracy
Session 3, Room 3
Protest Waves and Dynamics
- Deren Onursal: Handcuffs and Backlash: Arrest, Torture, and Dynamics of Dissent
- Peter Nikolaus Funke: Cycles of Struggle: Capitalism and Social Movements from 1994 to today
- Ivaylo Dinev: Protest Waves and Political Transformation in Southeastern Europe: A Long-Term Perspective
Session 3, Room 4
Rechtsradikale Proteste
- Lotta Mayer, Markus Lang: Kontinuität und Wandel der extremen Rechten in Deutschland. Eine historisch informierte bewegungssoziologische Perspektive
- Stefan Manser-Egli, Johannes Truffer: Rechts/alternativ? Alte Eidgenossen und neue Staatsverweigerer
- Johanna Fröhlich: „Wir sind das Volk“: Zwischen Tradition und Innovation in der neuen rechten Bewegung
- Seul A Lee: Zweiprotest gegen und für Präsidentschaft von Yoon: Kerzendemonstration und far-right Demonstration 2024/2025
Session 3, Room 5
Repertoires of Protest I
- Svenja Spyra: Visuality, symbolism and protest: The case of (re-)presenting (queer) femme-ininity in Germany
- Zorica Sirocic: Creative contention – a conceptual proposal
- Dorte Fischer: From Protest to Courtroom: Understanding the Role of Criminal Trials in Collective Action
- Monika Onken: Big or Go Home: How Violent Tactics Polarize Participation in Nonviolent Campaigns
10:00 – 10:30: Coffee Break
Thursday 2 October 2025: 11:00 – 12:30
Session 4, Room 1
Protest and Civil Society under Far-right Dominance I
- Daniel Platek: Protesting Far Right Parties in Poland, 2020
- Davide Rocchetti, Andrea Pirro: No more space for dissent? Contentious responses to far-right restrictions on protest rights in Italy.
- Thalles Vichiato Breda: The Homeless Workers Movement under Authoritarian Governments: Redefining Strategies and Political Subjects in Post-Coup Brazil
Session 4, Room 2
Klimaproteste III
- Louisa Pröschel, Hendrik Meyer: (Disruptive) Climate Protests in a Contested Media Space: Polarization Between Connective Action and Right-Wing Resistance
- Claudia Thoms, Tobias Schrimpf: Whodunit? Eine Inhaltsanalyse von Akteuren und ihren semantischen Rollen in der deutschen Berichterstattung über die Klimabewegung
- Tim Lotz: Ein Energieträger, eine Stimme? Eine Analyse der Reaktionen aus der Wasserstoffwirtschaft auf Proteste von Ende Gelände.
- Ruben Kaiser: Von Science for the People zu Listen to the Science? – Scientific Political Activism in sozial-ökologischen Bewegungen
Session 4, Room 3
Protests and the War in Ukraine
- Tatiana Lysova: Activism Adaptation under Pressure: Navigating Transnational Repression in Russian Anti-War Mobilisations
- Svetlana Chuikina: Backstage media and politics of resistance – in Russian authoritarian, militarised and exile contexts.
- Tatiana Golova, Veronika Danilova: Cooperation in the Russian Anti-War Movement: The Case of Platforma
- Anna Kalinina: Mediating Collective Action: The Role of Telegram Chat Bots in the Russian Anti-War Networks
Session 4, Room 4
Dynamics and drivers of mobilization
- Clara Martiny: Activism in Airplane Mode: Evolving Uses of Social Media and Digital Tools for Protest in the United States, 2020 to Today
- Johanna Raphaela Wahl, Martina Schiebel: Generationen im Protest. Zwischen Tradierung und Wandel sozialer Bewegungen
- Adam Hobbs, Deren Onursal: Unemployed and Provoked: Political Trust and Protest Activity Among Unemployed Individuals
- Jūratė Imbrasaitė: Urban Collective Action around Green Spaces: a Case of Lithuania
Session 4, Room 5
Repertoires of Protest II
- Umesh Joshi: Disrupt and Prefigure: The remaking of repertoires of contention in India
- Seyma Esin Erben: Hesitations in the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Local Activism: The Case of Moviment Graffitti in Malta
- Kai Heidemann: Mobilizing (Mis)Trust: Activist Journalism, Civic Vigilance and the Polycrisis of Democracy
12:30 – 13:30: Lunch Break
Thursday 2 October 2025: 13:30 – 15:00
Session 5, Room 1
Protest and Civil Society under Far-right Dominance II
- Christin Jänicke, Hans-Jonas Gunzelmann: Unsolicited Collaborators: Examining Civil Society Responses under Far-Right Hegemony
- Larissa Meier, Pal Susanszky, Sebastian Haunss, Priska Daphi: Challenging the Far Right? Local Protest Dynamics in Gera and Jena
- Michael Zeller: Organisational Bans and Far-Right Movement Ecologies
- Nils Zimmer: Endangered Free Spaces: Youth-Cultural Counter-Hegemonies in the Context of Right-Wing Normalisation
Session 5, Room 3
Intra-movement dynamics: cooperation, competiton, transformation?
- Marius Haberland, Jill Blau: Dinge gemeinsam bewegen. Die innovative Kraft von kollektivem Organisieren. Perspektiven auf die Schnittmenge von Bewegungs- und Organisationsforschung.
- Endre Borbath, Daniel Saldivia Gonzatti: Movement parties and parliamentary speech in Latin America and Europe
- Finn Klebe: Repression Within and Without: The Dual Impact of State Violence on Patterns of Cooperation in Resistance Movements
- Ilse Lenz: Transformations, reflexivity and international impulses in women‘s movements. A longterm comparative perspective on Germany and Japan
Session 5, Room 4
Why Methods Matter: Methodological Reflections on Online Protest Research in Digital Spaces
- Michael Linke: Peering into the Black Box: A Mechanistic Interpretability Approach for Protest News Classification
- Hendrik Meyer, Patrick Zerrer, Vasilisa Kuznetsova, Lisa Merten, Cornelius Puschmann: The missing piece in the puzzle? Examining the relationship between news exposure, climate importance and participation
- Patrick Zerrer, Stephanie Geise: Check, Choose, Commit: A Mixed-Methods Study of Mobile Media Participation
- Anna Ricarda Luther, Andreas Breiter, Stephanie Geise, Sebastian Haunss, Hendrik Heuer: Using Delphi to Understand Activist Needs
- Stephanie Geise, Valerie Hase, Annett Heft, Merja Mahrt: From Promises to Practice: How Digital and Computational Methods Are Transforming Online Protest Research
Session 5, Room 5
Spatial Analysis and the Role of Locality and Space for Protests
- Peter Gardner, Tiago Carvalho, Tom O’Brien, Erin Rose Newman-Grigg: “1,000 km of just nothingness”: Geography, networks and space in the organisation of Extinction Rebellion Australia
- Philipp Srama: Local Dynamics of Migration-Related Protest – A Case Study
- Liubov Chernysheva: Managing Locality: Digital Infrastructures and the Reconfiguration of (Urban) Space
- Alexander Araya López: The Spatiality of Dissent: Practices, Discourses, and the Contested Limits of Protest Events
Thursday 2 October 2025: 15:15 – 16:00
Closing Panel
Registration
The regular conference fee is 60 €. The reduced fee for students, PhD students and individuals with limited income is 10 €.
Please register by paying the conference fee to the ipb account:
Verein für Protest- und Bewegungsforschung e.V.
IBAN: DE90 4306 0967 1147 0403 00
BIC: GENODEM1GLS
Bank: GLS Gemeinschaftsbank
Please state your name and ipb conference 2025 on your bank transfer.
The conference is a collaboration between ipb, SOCIUM, and ZEMKI
