Dear colleagues, I am pleased to invite abstract submissions for the ECPR Joint Sessions 2026 workshop “Blurring or Accident? Voluntary and Involuntary Sources of Ambiguous Party Positions and Their Consequences for Democracy,” held at the University of Innsbruck, 7–10 April 2026. Why come to the Joint Sessions? The ECPR Joint Sessions convene a small group of researchers who work intensively together over several days. Participants pre-circulate their papers and receive detailed discussion and feedback in a seminar-style setting. From my previous experience hosting a workshop, I’ve found this format to be particularly well suited for advancing work in progress and building connections that can naturally grow into collaborative projects. What is the focus of the workshop? This workshop revisits ambiguity as a central but under-theorized feature of party competition. While existing research shows that parties may benefit from ambiguity, many contributions still treat different forms of blurring—such as vagueness, mixed or contradictory cues, issue avoidance, intra-party inconsistency, or alternation—as if they were functionally equivalent. The workshop aims to move the field forward by examining the varied sources of party policy ambiguity and the distinct functions it may serve—from the deliberate evasion of contentious issues to signaling policy competence. It also investigates how citizens interpret the origins of such ambiguity, and how these interpretations shape trust, responsibility attributions, accountability perceptions, and ultimately support for democracy. Click here<https://ecpr.eu/Events/Event/WorkshopDetails/16761> for more details. What contributions are invited? The workshop welcomes [but is not limited to] contributions that explore: (i) the mechanisms that generate different forms of ambiguity in party communication; (ii) the strategic and organizational functions ambiguity may serve; (iii) how citizens evaluate ambiguous cues and infer motives; (iv) and the downstream consequences of these interpretations for trust, legitimacy, responsiveness, and democratic attitudes. Submissions from all methodological perspectives are welcome. We particularly invite qualitative and quantitative empirical studies, survey experiments, and computational text analyses that help distinguish between different forms of blurring and identify their political effects. Where and how do I submit? Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words via the ECPR submission portal<https://ecpr.eu/MyEcpr/Forms/PaperProposalForm.aspx?EventID=342> by December 10, 2025. What funding opportunities exist? Early-career scholars may be eligible for ECPR Event Participation Grants (fee waiver + up to £500). Applications are handled by ECPR, independently of the workshop directors. Unfortunately I cannot attend. What else can I do? If you are unable to participate this year, I would be grateful if you could share this call with interested colleagues in your networks, especially early-career researchers whose work may fit the workshop theme. For any questions, feel free to get in touch. I look forward to receiving your submissions and to an engaging discussion in Innsbruck. Best regards, [cid:d040f7ad-27a9-4294-8754-9de963cf1cb9] Dr. Fabian Habersack Postdoctoral Researcher Department of Political Science, University of Innsbruck Universitätsstraße 15, A-6020 Innsbruck Phone: + 43 (0) 512 507 - 70138 Web: https://www.fabianhabersack.com<https://www.fabianhabersack.com/> BlueSky: @fabianhabersack.bsky.social<https://bsky.app/profile/fabianhabersack.bsky.social> Latest Werner, A., & Habersack, F. (forthcoming). Parties’ ideological cores and peripheries: Examining how parties balance adaptation and continuity in their manifestos. British Journal of Political Science. OSF Preprint: 10.31235/osf.io/pjes3_v1<https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/pjes3_v1> Habersack, F. (2025). A Question of Commitment: Investigating how Citizens Perceive Parties’ Programmatic Responses to Competition. Government and Opposition 60(3), 826-849. 🔗 10.1017/gov.2025.2<https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2025.2> Habersack, F. (2024). “A Question of Commitment: Investigating how Citizens Perceive Parties’ Programmatic Responses to Competition”, SUF edition, AUSSDA, V1. 🔗 10.11587/R51DRM<https://doi.org/10.11587/R51DRM> Habersack, F. (2024). Carrots and sticks: How voter loyalty and electoral opportunities shape parties’ policy priorities in Europe. European Journal of Political Research 64(3), 1440-1464. 🔗 10.1111/1475-6765.12744<https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12744> Habersack, F., & Wegscheider, C. (2024). Left Behind Economically or Politically? Economic Grievances, Representation, and Populist Attitudes. Politics and Governance 12(1). 🔗 10.17645/pag.8567<https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.8567>.