Exeter, UK; 27-28 June 2025

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the EASP Small Group Meeting on Crowds and Leaders: Towards Integration and Innovation in Crowd Psychology, Collective Action and Leadership-Followership Research.

While research in leadership, collective action, and crowd psychology has a rich and distinct history, efforts to establish theoretical and conceptual bridges between these areas are relatively recent. Nonetheless, the growing body of work at this intersection offers valuable insights into the dynamics of crowds and leadership in contemporary socio-political contexts, including riots, protests, global movements, climate action, rising populism, political leadership and parties, and responses to crises and disasters. We aim to bring together researchers with these different backgrounds to discuss:

1) The integration of research and theory across leadership and followership, crowd psychology, collective action, social identity, power, repression, and social influence.
2) Methodological and conceptual challenges and limitations in the current state-of-the-art and identify future avenues.
3) Various global cases across the globe, where leaders and crowds have a pivotal role in community, social change, and group processes.

The two-day meeting will be held at the University of Exeter on 27-28 June 2025, with the first day devoted to short "blitz" presentations and the second day to collaborative discussions on the future of research on crowds and leaders. We invite researchers at all career stages (postgraduate, early-career, senior) and all regions of the world to present their work or to join the discussions (without presentations).

Key details:
• Cost: Attendance is free, including coffee breaks and lunches
• Accommodation: Two nights of free on-campus accommodation can be provided for up to 15 participants, with priority given to scholars at risk, PhD students, post-docs, and researchers from outside the UK and Europe
• Travel grants: A limited number of travel grants are available for those requiring financial assistance
• Attendance is limited to 30 participants in total

Please use the following link to submit your abstract to present your work or expression of interest to attend without presenting by 15 January 2025: https://exe.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8eQ5coOXYpIme3k

We aim to finalise decisions on submissions in late February 2025 to allow time for visa applications for attendees who will need to apply. For any questions you might have, please contact us by sending an email to m.uysal@exeter.ac.uk

We look forward to welcoming you to Exeter!
Mete Sefa Uysal, Sara Vestergren, Yasemin Gülsüm Acar