NESS 2026 workshop on comparative politics of backlash, rollback, and backsliding

[Patterson, J.J. (James)]

Dear Colleagues,

  

We are delighted to invite abstract submissions to a workshop we are hosting at the Nordic Environmental Social Science (NESS) Conference at Uppsala University, Sweden, 9-11 June 2026:  

  

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Workshop 21: Backlash, rollback, and backsliding: Comparing the dynamics and implications of reversing climate and environmental policies

Policy reversal is now a major scholarly, political, and public concern in contemporary climate and environmental politics. From accumulating experiences of backlash to climate policies across a variety of countries (Patterson 2023; Patterson et al., 2025), to public and parliamentary pushback against European Green Deal policies, and dismantling of policies and institutions in the United States and elsewhere, climate and environmental policy is being challenged in new and profound ways. Yet, the rapidly growing research on these topics remains highly fragmented (e.g., in terms of concepts, causal explanations, methods, and interpretations).

  

Bridging gaps in scientific knowledge on these proliferating phenomena is urgently needed. This requires: (i) bringing diverse emerging (and longstanding) cases and lines of enquiry into productive dialogue to explain the dynamics and implications of policy reversals, and (ii) identifying similarities and distinguishing differences across and within cases (including among different actor perspectives), to (iii) make sense of the rapidly evolving contexts of climate and environmental policymaking. Doing so is crucial to not only bridging gaps between the urgency of transformation and real-world policy implementation, but also gaps between differing social science disciplines and approaches to such research.

  

Questions also arise about the implications of policy reversal for environmental politics and future ecological and social outcomes. How does the apparently widespread occurrence of policy reversal challenge our understanding of environmental politics? Might it suggest potential blindspots in theorizing policy and broader political change? Are there circumstances under which policy reversals may be generative (e.g., revealing overlooked interests and values, stimulating new debates, or provoking new strategies for policy action)? If so, under which conditions does this occur, and how does this vary for different actors within heterogeneous and unequal societies? Can we develop systemic comparative and transnational frameworks to understand these phenomena?

  

We welcome empirical and conceptual fully drafted manuscripts across geographies, political spaces, and disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches. The workshop will engage deeply with all authors, and discuss comparative learning across differing cases, insights, and arguments.

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Key information: 

• Deadline for abstracts: 8 Dec 2025 23:59 Central European Time (CET). Notification of acceptance in January 2026.
• Participation is open to scholars globally. The NESS conference has run for over 30 years bringing together scholars across social sciences and humanities in environmental studies. 
• Please find the conference website here: https://www.uu.se/en/department/earth-sciences/research/natural-resources-and-sustainable-development/ness2026 (click on ‘Workshops’ to make a submission). 
• Submissions must be done via the conference website (not directly to the workshop convenors). When submitting your abstract, please make sure to choose the correct workshop. 
• If your abstract is accepted, you will be required to submit a fully drafted manuscript to the workshop convenors in May 2026. Discussion of full papers is a widely appreciated feature of the NESS conferences. Please only submit an abstract if it will indeed be possible for you to present and discuss a full draft of the paper at the conference.
• Abstracts will be evaluated based on scientific quality, fit with the workshop theme, and likelihood that a fully drafted manuscript will be available by May 2026. 
• Please see the conference website for further information about how to prepare your abstract. 

  

Please pass on this email to relevant colleagues, and/or feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 

  

We look forward to receiving your abstract! 

  

With kind regards,

  

James Patterson - Utrecht University (j.j.pa...@uu.nl)

Stacy VanDeveer - University of Massachusetts, Boston (stacy.v...@umb.edu)

Ksenia Anisimova - Utrecht University (k.ani...@uu.nl)