We invite you to join the 4th Research Workshop on Political Trust. Following previous workshops in Cologne (2023), Lüneberg (2024) and Amsterdam (2025), we are holding a 4th research workshop on political trust at the Universat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona between 14-16 October 2026.

This series of workshops serves two aims. First, we use it for institution building. During the conference, we hope to freely discuss venues in political trust research, and potential collaborations for funding. The workshop can host a total of 40 to 50 participants. 

Second, we use it for paper presentations. We have space for up to 20 paper presentations. Space for presentations is somewhat limited, so we cannot guarantee that all who are interested will be able to present. We invite papers and presentations on all aspects of political trust. These include, but are not limited to:

  • The measurement of trust and associated concepts including distrust.
  • The effects of trust and distrust, including on support for ‘anti-system’ parties and citizens’ democratic attitudes.
  • The determinants of trust and trustworthiness.
  • Trust in different actors and institutions, including non-state actors and supra-national institutions.
  • Trust among particular population sub-groups.

We welcome proposals from different academic disciplines, across a range of approaches and methodologies, and including both junior and senior faculty members. 

Participants will be expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs. There is no workshop registration fee.

All in all, we would like to know (1) whether you are interested and able to participate at the Barcelona conference, (2) whether you would want to present a paper there (if so: title+brief abstract), and (3) on which days you would be present. We set up an electronic submission site here. Perhaps you are interested in participating yourselves. Otherwise, there may be colleagues (particularly junior scholars) at your institute that you want to forward this invitation to.

Please use to following form to register to attend or present at the workshop.

The deadline for proposal submission is April 30, 2026.

Note that we warmly invite you even if you do not wish to present a paper. We will provide further practical details at a later stage. Questions can be directed to one of the workshop organizers: