ECPR General Conference 2026 · Kraków · 9 September
Giving or taking voice
Anna-Lotta Dechow and Oscar Mendoza Hernandez both presented at the ECPR General Conference for the
first time, hosted by the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. They spoke in the panel “Giving or
Taking Voice: Representative Claims and Group Appeals in the EU’s Multi-Level Public Sphere”,
chaired by Clint Claessen and Lucy Kinski, with Richard Reid as discussant. Anna-Lotta presented
“Constructing Representative Exclusion – Disrepresentation in the European Parliament”, research
that conceptualizes representative claim-making as a tool for drawing the boundaries of
representation and examines how political actors use it as such. Oscar presented a paper from his
PhD dissertation, “Representing Youth: Mentions and Representative Claims about Young People in
the European Parliament”, which asks to what extent members of the European Parliament mention
young people, whether these mentions amount to representative claims, and under which conditions
MEPs represent youth. He also served as a discussant. Both returned with very insightful comments
on their work.
SISP Annual Conference 2026 · Trento · 4 September
Present, but not Represented?
At the 39th Annual Conference of the Italian Political Science Association (SISP) in Trento, Clint
Claessen presented “Present, but not Represented? Representative Claims and Group Mentions in
Parliamentary Debates”, joint work with Lucy Kinski that presents findings from the INCONEX project. The
paper was part of the panel “Text as Data in Political Science”, chaired by Mattia Sguazzini and
Valerio Vignoli, with Valerio Vignoli as discussant.
EPSS Inaugural Conference · Belfast · 19 June 2026
Present, but not Represented?
Clint Claessen had the wonderful privilege of presenting joint work with Dr Lucy Kinski at the
inaugural conference of the European Political Science Society (EPSS) in Belfast. The paper,
“Present, but not Represented? Representative Claims and Group Mentions in Parliamentary Debates,”
presented findings from the INCONEX project. Special thanks to Daniel Höhmann for chairing the
panel and for his great comments on the paper!
King's Centre for British Democracy · King's College London · June 2026
Inclusion in and exclusion from representation
Anna-Lotta Dechow joined a research conference on democracy, representation, and participation at
King's College London — wonderfully organized by Jana Konle and the King's Centre for British
Democracy. She presented her PhD research on inclusion in and exclusion from representation through
claim-making in political speech, and took part in thought-provoking discussions with many wonderful
scholars. The team is especially grateful to the Austrian Political Science Association for kindly
funding her participation and making the trip to London possible.
GraPa Conference · Düsseldorf · 29–30 January
Graduate Conference on Party Research
Hosted by the Düsseldorf Party Research Institute (PRuF), Anna-Lotta Dechow and Oscar Mendoza
Hernandez presented early drafts of their cumulative PhD projects — “The Boundaries of Representation
in Europe” and “The Supply and Demand of Youth Representation in Europe”. Lucy Kinski chaired the
panel “Populism and Party Conflict”. Special thanks to Peter Obert for serving as discussant, and to
the PRuF for the excellent organization.
Political Science Colloquium · Innsbruck · 27 January
Present but not Represented?
At the political science colloquium in Innsbruck, Clint Claessen presented preliminary results from
the project in a paper titled “Present but not Represented? Representative Claims and Group Appeals in
Parliamentary Debates.” Special thanks to Fabian Habersack for organizing the talk and to the
political science team for their comments.
PSAI Annual Conference 2025 · Galway
Between presence and absence
At the Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI) Annual Conference 2025, Clint Claessen
presented the first project paper, “Between presence and absence: Social classes and vulnerable
groups in parliamentary debates,” in a panel organized by Alona O. Dolinsky. Thanks to her and her
co-authors Will Horne and Lena Huber for their comments and for sharing their modelling strategies.
ECPR General Conference 2025 · Thessaloniki
Conceptualizing representative absence
Lucy Kinski and Clint Claessen presented two papers from INCONEX. The first, “Conceptualizing
representative absence: What, how, when, and why?”, argues that representative absence is not just the
opposite of presence — part of a panel on presence and absence chaired by Lucy Kinski, alongside
papers by Alex Magas and Clementina Gentile Fusillo. The second, “Between presence and absence:
Social classes and vulnerable groups in parliamentary debates”, was presented in a panel organized by
Stefanie Walter. Special thanks to Hajo G. Boomgaarden for the discussion.
