After the crisis decade: what still holds societies together?
ICSS 2027 brings together sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists, social psychologists and policy researchers for three days of papers, panels and methods workshops on inequality, migration, democratic trust and digital public life.
The conference is deliberately mid-sized — around 320 delegates across eight tracks — so that every accepted paper receives a full 20-minute slot and a designated discussant. All sessions are streamed, and online presenters take the same review track and the same proceedings as those in the room.
- 320 delegates, capped
- 8 thematic tracks
- 41 countries in 2026
- 28% acceptance rate
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Woburn House, Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury -
Parallel session, ICSS 2026 in Lisbon -
Poster session and lunch, Garden Room
Full papers, short papers, posters, organised panels and a PhD colloquium. Double-blind review, two referees per submission.
- Eight thematic tracks
- Six submission types
- 28% acceptance rate in 2026
- 30 Nov — Abstracts close
- 6 Feb — Full papers due
- 20 Mar — Camera-ready and early registration
- Prof. Amara Okonjo-Reid · LSE, London
- Prof. Hendrik Vasquez · Amsterdam
- Dr Leila Farouk · Cape Town
- Prof. Junko Iwasaki · Tokyo
Tracks
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Inequality, class and mobility
Wealth and income distributions, intergenerational transmission, regional divergence, and the measurement of opportunity.
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Migration, borders and belonging
Reception regimes, diaspora networks, integration outcomes, and public attitudes to newcomers.
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Political behaviour and democratic trust
Turnout, populism, institutional confidence, local government, and deliberative experiments.
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Education, youth and life chances
School effects, tracking, higher-education access, and transitions from study into work.
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Work, care and the household economy
Labour markets, unpaid care, time use, platform work, and household bargaining.
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Health, wellbeing and social policy
Social determinants, mental health, welfare conditionality, and policy evaluation.
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Digital life and public discourse
Platform governance, misinformation, algorithmic sorting, and online civic participation.
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Methods and measurement
Mixed methods, computational social science, survey experiments, and participatory research design.
What a delegate gets
- A 20-minute slot with a named discussant, not a five-minute lightning talk
- Publication in the proceedings (ISSN 2753-9041) with a DOI per paper
- Consideration for the Journal of Comparative Social Policy special issue
- Recordings of all plenaries for twelve months
- Two lunches, the Thursday gala dinner, and the Wednesday reception
- A written referee report on every submitted full paper, accepted or not
Questions
Can I present online?
Yes. Online presenters are scheduled into the same parallel sessions, with a chair in the room managing questions. Slots are placed between 09:00 and 17:00 London time.
Is an abstract enough, or must I write a full paper?
An accepted abstract secures your place on the programme. A full paper is required only if you want to appear in the proceedings or be considered for the special issue.
Do you issue visa invitation letters?
After registration is paid, the secretariat issues a signed letter within five working days. Requests before 1 February are strongly advised.
Are there bursaries?
Twenty fee waivers are reserved for doctoral researchers and for delegates from low- and middle-income countries. Apply with your abstract.
Committee and venue
Who runs the conference, where it is held, and how to reach the secretariat.