We are pleased to announce that the TRUEDEM project will participate in the 5th ISA Forum of Sociology, organized by the International Sociological Association (ISA) in Rabat, Morocco, from 6 to 11 July 2025.

As part of its international dissemination efforts, TRUEDEM will host two thematic panels within the program of the ISA Research Committee RC20: Comparative Sociology. These sessions will bring together scholars from diverse disciplines and regions to present comparative research on institutional trust, political culture, and civic engagement in turbulent political contexts. Both panels reflect TRUEDEM’s core mission: to analyze and explain the conditions under which trust in democracy is built, sustained, or undermined.

Panel 1: Global Perspectives on Democracy and Political Trust: Comparative Analyses in Turbulent Times
Date: Monday, 7 July 2025
Time: 09:00 – 10:45
Location: ASJE032 (Bloc 3, Annex of the Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences)
Session Organizer: Christian Haerpfer (Institute for Comparative Survey Research, Austria)

This panel examines cross-national trends in public trust toward governments and international institutions. Drawing on large-scale survey data, the session focuses on the factors that shape democratic legitimacy across different political and regional contexts.

Presentations:

• Institutional Trust and Support for Redistribution: The Views of the Wealthy and of the General Population in Brazil - by Elisa Reis (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), Felix Lopez (Institute of Applied Economic Research – IPEA), Thiago Moreira (Federal University of Minas Gerais)

• Information Environment, Media Use, and Political Trust - by Kseniya Kizilova (Leuphana University, Germany)

• Trust in National Governments in 30 European Democracies, 1990–2024 - by Christian Haerpfer (Institute for Comparative Survey Research, Austria)

• Overcoming Eucentrism: Socio-Economic Divides in Trust Towards the EU, the UN, and NATO - by Juan J. Fernández, Javier Terraza (University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain), Marta Parades (Universidad de Comillas, Spain)

Panel 2: Political Behavior, Participation, and Culture: Building Social Capital
Date: Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Time: 13:00 – 14:45
Location: ASJE032 (Bloc 3, Annex of the Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences)
Session Organizer: Kseniya Kizilova (Leuphana University, Germany)

This panel explores the cultural and behavioral foundations of democratic life, with a focus on civic activism, protest, grassroots mobilization, and the ambivalent effects of violence on social cohesion. The presentations offer theoretical and empirical insights into both positive and negative forms of social capital.

Presentations:

• Contextualizing Civic Engagement: The Dynamics of Civil Society Organizations and States - by Sumrin Kalia, Gregory Jackson (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)

• From Contestation to Collaboration: Exploring Social Movements and Civil Society Dynamics - by Ignacio Cáceres, Begoña Bilbeny, Florencia Cruz Palma (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)

• Somatic Learning of Violence as a Type of Negative Social Capital Accumulation in the Case of Mass Violence in the United States - by Ana Velitchkova (University of Mississippi, USA)

• Urban Collective Action Around Green Spaces: A Case of Lithuania - by Jurate Imbrasaitė (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania)

If you're interested in learning more about the TRUEDEM research or exploring opportunities for collaboration, you can find us at both panels, or reach out to us directly via email at office@truedem.eu. 

We look forward to engaging discussions and exchanges with fellow researchers and practitioners at ISA 2025!