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23-25 Jun 2026 Bordeaux (France)
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Call for papersThe systemic nature of discrimination: recognize, understand, intervene If there were a need to emphasize the importance of addressing issues of systemic discrimination, numerous observations and calls would point in this direction. In its report Addressing Racism in Policing (April 10, 2024), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) identifies significant gaps in national regulatory frameworks concerning profiling practices and the disproportionate use of force, and emphasizes that discriminatory practices based on ethnoracial criteria police services can "erode public trust and exacerbate social exclusion." In the case of European migration policies, EU member states are accused of implementing systematic discriminatory treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, illustrating a structural dimension of discrimination. The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) documents the exclusion of racialized migrants through migration policies and stigmatizing public discourse. The OECD's The State and Effects of Discrimination in the European Union (June 2024) shows that access to disaggregated data remains limited and that discriminatory effects are part of long-term processes. These experiences of discrimination are associated with negative effects on employment, health, and civic participation. This finding reinforces the idea that discrimination is not simply an incident, but clearly the result of a system that constantly reproduces it. However, data collection and evaluation of national plans remain very inadequate, which limits the demonstration of the systemic nature of the phenomena at work. According to the annual Fundamental Rights Report 2024, experiences of racial discrimination in European Union member states are not decreasing: they remain high. Taken together, these findings argue for discrimination to be considered not as an isolated incident, but as a systemic process, namely a set of norms, practices, institutions, and structures that produce, organize, and reproduce inequality beyond individual intent. This confirms politically that systemic discrimination is now being discussed as a major issue at the European level, but that its translation into concrete measures remains incomplete. OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM This symposiumaims to examine the concept of systemic discrimination—sometimes defined or understood as institutional racism, state racism, structural discrimination, etc.—as a category of analysis for understanding the mechanisms and dynamics through which illegal inequalities of treatment are produced, reproduced, and reinforced within institutions, organizations, and social structures. Beyond examining individual or intentional discrimination, the objective is to understand how norms, practices, and systems can have discriminatory effects, even unintentionally, in various sectors, including health, higher education, housing, and employment. With this in mind, the symposiumaims to deconstruct, operationalize, and empirically test the concept of systemic discrimination. The goal is to dispel the ambiguity of the term "systemic," which is often used descriptively or politically without methodological stabilization; to clarify its constituent properties—mechanisms, levels of action, temporalities, cumulative effects; to propose investigation protocols, indicators, typologies, and methods for demonstrating and objectifying its existence; to articulate structural, organizational, and interactional scales of analysis in order to examine how institutions can produce, maintain, or amplify asymmetries beyond individual intentions; and finally, to question the normative consequences of such a qualification, whether in terms of institutional responsibility, redress, or transformation. The challenge is thus to shift the discussion from political diagnosis to a logic of proof, mobilizing quantitative, qualitative, comparative, mixed, archival, and even experimental approaches (discrimination tests, disaggregated data analysis, organizational audits) in order to rigorously equip the study of systemic dynamics and reflect on the conditions for their transformation. This scientific event is organized as part of the Horizon Europe UNDETERRED project and focuses on systemic discrimination experienced by populations classified as immigrants and national minorities. At this symposium, we wish to promote open dialogue between researchers, institutions, and practitioners from various scientific, professional, geographical, and national backgrounds. Our ambition is to critically examine the broad field of discrimination. Contributions addressing systemic inequalities experienced by other populations (such as gender minorities, people with disabilities, etc.) from an intersectional perspective are encouraged. The symposium also invites reflection on how systemic discrimination can be measured empirically and understood analytically, through quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as through emerging methods such as big data analysis and ethnographic surveys. ARGUMENT In pluralistic and liberal societies, despite the proliferation of measures to promote equality, equity, and dignity, persistent forms of racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination remain in some of the most regulated areas: education, employment, health, housing, and even leisure in its cultural and sporting expressions. This paradox raises several questions: First, it calls into question the real effectiveness of anti-discrimination or equality promotion policies, not in terms of their stated intentions, but in terms of their ability to permanently neutralize the prohibited unfavorable treatment experienced by certain populations in a manner that is repeated over time and more or less widespread in many areas of social life. Second, it reflects a shift in the current debate on differences in treatment, where attention has focused on other grounds for discrimination such as gender equality or identity. However, geographical origin, phenotype, religion, race, or language remain frequently cited direct or indirect grounds for discrimination (Statistics Canada, 2024; Beauchemin, Hamel, and Simon, 2016; Gravel, 2015). Finally, while legal frameworks allow for the recognition of direct and indirect discrimination with varying degrees of effectiveness, the same cannot be said for systemic discrimination resulting from an active structure of discrimination (Mercat-Bruns, 2015). Systemic discrimination therefore seems to escape the scope of public policy initiatives, which are mainly geared towards understanding discrimination as an isolated, intentional, and easily attributable act. While some voices denounced the existence of institutional racism, state racism, or racist states as early as the 1960s and 1970s, long after the dissemination of the ideas and writings of Web du Bois (1899), Carmichael (1967), Foucault (1979), and Bourdieu (1995), the challenge today most likely lies in our collective ability to model the system of discrimination, given that "few studies have explored the complex dynamics that shape this system" (Brown et al., 2025). Contributions examining the implications of systemic discrimination for the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies, particularly those that highlight concrete mechanisms for institutional change, are particularly welcome. This symposiumtherefore aims to focus on the "systemic" nature of discrimination, promoting opportunities for exchange, discussion, and debate from both disciplinary and multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives. The diversity of national contexts, established legal frameworks, policies, practices, and existing research traditions from a multiscale perspective could usefully constitute a multiscale, geographically multisituated space for comparison. We hope that this symposiumwill be a real opportunity to examine and understand our different ways of approaching the issue of "systemic" (Bohren, J. A., Hull, P., & Imas, A, 2022; J Aislinn Bohren, Peter Hull, Alex Imas, 2025; Council of Europe, 2024; Banaji, M.R., Fiske, S.T. & Massey, 2021). In line with the original intention of the Horizon Europe UNDETERRED project, the aim will be to significantly deepen our understanding of the system of discrimination operating in society and in institutions that provide social resources by sharing research findings. Papers may fall within one or more of the following areas, but are not limited to them:
ORGANIZATIONAL DETAILS The symposiumwill be held at the University of Bordeaux – Victoire campus, from Tuesday, June 23 to Thursday, June 25, 2026. It will be bilingual (French and English). In order to facilitate discussions, we ask speakers to prepare their presentation materials in the other language of the symposium(for example: presentation in French, PowerPoint in English, and vice versa). The program includes three plenary lectures and parallel thematic panels. The duration of the thematic panels may vary, ranging from one 2-hour block to six 2-hour blocks (two half-days), according to the schedule model determined below. Each 2-hour block will include four 25-minute presentations and a 20-minute discussion period. PARTICIPATION FEES Accommodation, travel expenses, and meals are the responsibility of participants and research teams. Coffee breaks and refreshments will be provided. To encourage broad participation, there is no registration fee. SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL Three types of presentations are possible:
These presentations may be organized and submitted by university researchers, practitioners, or individuals involved in organizations or associations. You must create a ScienceConf account in order to submit your proposal. 1. Thematic panel proposal Researchers are invited to propose a thematic panel that fits within one of the symposiumthemes, using this form. The proposal must include:
Proposals for thematic panels must be submitted using the form on the symposium website by January 11, 2026, at the latest. Proposals will be evaluated by the scientific committee, which will take into account scientific quality and the symposium's capacity. The committee may also suggest that the person responsible for an accepted panel include an individual paper related to the theme. 2. Individual paper proposals Researchers are invited to submit an individual paper on one of the symposium's themes using this form. The proposal must include:
Proposals must be submitted using the form on the symposium website by January 11, 2026, at the latest. Proposals will be evaluated by the scientific committee, which will take into consideration their scientific quality and the symposium's capacity. The committee may also suggest that certain individual papers be included in a thematic panel. 3. Scientific poster University researchers, doctoral students, graduate students, practitioners, and committed individuals are invited to submit a proposal for a scientific poster, which will be presented in the main courtyard of the symposium, using this form. The proposal must include:
Poster proposals must be submitted using the form on the symposium website by January 11, 2026.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Symposiumwebsite: https://undeterred.sciencesconf.org/ Contact: undeterred@u-bordeaux.fr SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
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