Constitutional Politics and Institutional Reform in the EU

"This section is devoted to research into the institutional development and constitutional politics of the European Union, understood broadly. We invite proposals for papers and panels that examine both formal and informal aspects of changes to the EU’s institutional and constitutional foundations. This includes research into the EU’s political, legal, normative and ideational frameworks, analyses of their effects and debates about their reform. We welcome both theoretical work, e.g. discussions of federalism and polity formation, governance approaches, bordering and differentiated integration, as well as empirical contributions. We particularly encourage studies engaging with the effects of internal and external challenges on the institutional development of the EU, ranging from contestation and politicisation over transboundary crises to geopolitical and security challenges. Among many other possible subjects, we are interested in studies of the 2024 EU Parliament elections and its effects on the balance of power between the EU institutions. We equally encourage submissions on security and defence integration, including the European Defence Industrial Strategy and related legislative initiatives, and the implications for EU competences, budgeting and democratic oversight. We also invite analyses of the reformed economic governance framework and its ramifications for fiscal capacity, surveillance and solidarity, including interactions with the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other crisis instruments. Given key 2026 milestones, we also welcome work on the Pact on Migration and Asylum and what it reveals about burden-sharing between the member states, rights protections, and centre–periphery dynamics in the EU. Beyond internal reforms, we equally seek contributions on enlargement governance and pre-accession politics, including staged or sectoral integration, decision-making reforms, and the evolving accession processes of Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans. We are keen to assemble a diverse group of scholars and especially encourage submissions from early-career researchers. We welcome single-paper proposals, full panels, and roundtables that bridge theory and empirics, compare across policy domains, or connect EU constitutional debates to broader regional and global governance."