In August 2023, dr. Róbert Vancel had the opportunity to attend the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conference in Dublin, which took place from August 12th to 15th, 2024. The ECPR General Conference is a major international event in political science, bringing together scholars from around the world to discuss and present their latest research.

As part of the Contemporary Political Mobilisation panel, he presented a paper When two do the same, it is never the same: identification of the causes of the fragmentation of the civil society mobilization campaign before the parliamentary snap elections in Slovakia 2023; The paper focused on the deep divisions within Slovak civil society, which, despite a shared concern for values and democratic participation, failed to unite behind a single mobilization campaign.

The study´s preliminary findings highlighted how civil society organizations in the periphery rejected the centralized model proposed by those in the capital, instead pursuing their own strategies for increasing electoral participation.

By examining the fragmentation within Slovakia’s civil society, this study contributes to BRRIDGE’s broader mission of addressing the inequalities and governance shifts affecting democracy in Slovakia and beyond. It also contributes to a broader academic discussion on regional inequalities and their impact on political engagement, democracy, and human rights. The conference in Dublin offered an enriching environment for networking and gaining new, insipiring insights into our work.