The following candidates run as a team for the following positions:

• Rens Vliegenthart (Wageningen University, The Netherlands) – Chair
• Delia Balaban (Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania) – Vice-Chair
• Kilian Buehling (University of Tübingen, Germany) – Vice-Chair and Communication Officer

You can read their candidate statements below.

The election will take place at the ECC 2026 Conference in Brno, Czech Republic, during the Political Communication Section Business Meeting on Thursday, 10 Sep 2026, 12:45 – 13:30, FSS | Aula. Only attending ECREA Political Communication Section Members are allowed to vote.

Rens Vliegenthart (Wageningen University, The Netherlands) – Chair

I am pleased to present my candidacy for Chair of the ECREA Political Communication Section for the

2026–2028 term. I am running together with Prof. dr. Delia Balaban (Babeș-Bolyai University) as Vice-

Chair and Dr. Kilian Buehling (Universität Tübingen) as Vice-Chair and Communications OOicer.

Together, we bring complementary expertise in political communication research, academic leadership,

mentoring, conference organization, and science communication. Representing diOerent institutions and

regions of Europe, from North-Western to South-Eastern Europe, we share the ambition to further

strengthen the section as an inclusive, internationally connected, and intellectually vibrant community.

Having been an active member of ECREA and the Political Communication Section for many years, I see

this role as an opportunity to give back to a community that has played an important role in my own

academic career. My ambition is to build on the outstanding work of the current Management Team while

creating new opportunities for collaboration, visibility, and participation across the section.

Our leadership philosophy is bottom-up rather than top-down and the Management Board should create

the conditions for members to develop ideas, launch initiatives, and build collaborations. We want

scholars from diOerent career stages (including those from YECREA), institutions, countries, and

methodological traditions to feel represented and encouraged to contribute. As Chair, I will pay particular

attention to strengthening comparative and cross-national research and ensuring broad participation from

across Europe, including colleagues from Southern and Eastern European countries.

Together, our team has identified four priorities for the coming two years:

• Strengthening comparative and cross-national political communication research. Europe

oOers unique opportunities for comparative scholarship, and I would like the section to serve as a

platform that brings together researchers working across countries and political contexts.

• Further developing the successful Mentorship Programme. Delia Balaban will lead this

initiative, continuing and expanding one of the section’s most valuable activities for early-career

scholars.

• Building and sustaining an active online community. Kilian Buehling will take the lead in

strengthening the section’s communication through LinkedIn by sharing research, promoting

opportunities, highlighting members’ achievements, and fostering interaction throughout the

year.

I also look forward to supporting the organization of an intermediate section conference in Cluj next year,

subject to approval by the membership and ECREA. I believe such meetings provide invaluable

opportunities for scientific exchange, networking, and initiating new collaborative research.

To ensure continuity, I am available to serve as Chair for the coming two-year term. Thereafter, one of the

Vice-Chairs will be well positioned to take over the role, providing a smooth transition while maintaining

momentum for the section’s activities and initiatives.

It would be a privilege to serve the Political Communication Section as Chair. Together with Delia and

Kilian, I look forward to working with the membership to further strengthen our section as an open,

collaborative, diverse, and welcoming community for political communication scholars across Europe.

Delia Balaban (Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania) – Vice-Chair

I am honored to stand for election as Vice-Chair of the ECREA Political Communication

Section alongside Prof. Dr. Rens Vliegenthart (Wageningen University), who is standing for

Chair, and Dr. Kilian Buehling (Universität Tübingen), who is standing for Vice-

Chair. Together, we share a common vision of a section that is open, collaborative,

internationally connected, and welcoming to scholars at all career stages. Building on the

excellent work of previous Management Teams, we hope to create new opportunities for

collaboration, professional development, and meaningful engagement across our community.

Having been an active member of ECREA for many years, I have greatly valued the

opportunities this community has provided for scholarly exchange, collaboration, and

friendship. Serving as Vice-Chair would be an opportunity to give back to a section that has

played an important role in my own academic journey and to contribute to its continued

development.

Within our team, I will primarily focus on the further development of the section’s

Mentorship Programme. Building on the excellent work initiated by previous Management

Teams, I would like to help expand one of the section’s most valuable initiatives for earlycareer

researchers. Doctoral candidates and early-career scholars are the future of our field,

and I believe the section can play an important role in supporting their professional

development through mentoring, networking, visibility, and opportunities for collaboration.

A second priority for me is fostering an inclusive and welcoming community for scholars

from across Europe. Political communication research benefits from diverse perspectives,

institutional contexts, and methodological traditions. I would like to encourage broader

participation from colleagues working in regions that have traditionally been less represented

in ECREA Political Communication section activities, particularly Southern Europe, so that

an even wider range of voices and experiences is reflected in our section.

I also look forward to working closely with Rens Vliegenthart and Kilian Buehling on the

Political Communication section Interim Conference in Cluj-Napoca in September 2027

hosted by the Babes-Bolyai University, my home university. Beyond the conference, I hope

to support initiatives that keep members connected throughout the year through workshops,

networking opportunities, and research conversations that encourage collaboration and the

exchange of ideas.

Drawing on my experience in academic leadership, mentoring, and international

collaboration, I am committed to supporting our members and helping strengthen the section

as an open, inclusive, and vibrant community.

It would be a privilege to serve the Political Communication Section as Vice-Chair. Together

with Rens and Kilian, I look forward to working with our members to further strengthen our

section as a welcoming home for political communication scholars across Europe

Kilian Buehling (University of Tübingen, Germany) – Vice Chair

I am pleased to present my candidacy for Vice-Chair and Communication Officer of the ECREA Political

Communication Section for the 2026–2028 term. I am running together as a team with Prof. Dr. Rens

Vliegenthart (Wageningen University) as Chair and Prof. Dr. Delia Balaban (Babeș-Bolyai University) as

second Vice-Chair.

Together, we strive to strengthen the Political Communication section as an intellectually vibrant and

inclusive community. Fostering international connections among the many involved scholars will be a

cornerstone of our work. Collectively, we bring complementary expertise in political communication

research, academic leadership, mentoring, conference organization, and science communication.

Representing different institutions and regions of Europe, from North-Western to South-Eastern Europe,

Early on in my career, I found an intellectual home in ECREA and the Political Communication Section. I

see this role as an opportunity to contribute actively to a community that has shaped my development as

a researcher. As Vice-Chair, I am especially motivated to help shape the section’s strategic direction and

its initiatives. By working to lower the barriers to participation and fostering collaboration across career

stages and regions, I would like to help ensure that the section remains a place where new ideas and

emerging scholars can thrive.

Our leadership philosophy is bottom-up rather than top-down, and the Management Board should create

the conditions for members to develop ideas, launch initiatives, and build collaborations. We want

scholars from different career stages (including those from YECREA), institutions, countries, and

methodological traditions to feel represented and encouraged to contribute.

As Vice-Chair and Communication Officer, I will focus particularly on strengthening the section’s

communication infrastructure and digital presence. Concretely, I intend to maintain and expand the

section’s channels (mailing list and social media), ensure timely and consistent dissemination of calls,

events, and member achievements, and improve the visibility of early-career scholars’ work, and keep the

community connected between the Political Communication section conference and the ECREA main

conference. Together, our team has identified the following priorities for the coming two years:

• Building and sustaining an active online community. I will take the lead in strengthening the

section’s communication through LinkedIn by sharing research, promoting opportunities,

highlighting members’ achievements, and fostering interaction throughout the year.

• Strengthening comparative and cross-national political communication research. Rens

Vliegenthart would like to foster the international collaboration and exchange of ideas across

European communication researchers.

• Further developing the successful Mentorship Programme. Delia Balaban will lead this

initiative, continuing and expanding one of the section’s most valuable activities for early-career

scholars.

I would also welcome the chance to help organize the section’s intermediate conference in Cluj next year,

pending approval by the membership and ECREA.

I am available to serve as Vice-Chair for the coming two-year term. Afterward, my Co-Vice-Chair, Delia

Balaban, and I would decide together which of us would apply for section chair to ensure continuity in

leadership. It would be an honor to serve the Political Communication Section as Vice-Chair. Working

alongside Rens and Delia, and in close exchange with the membership, I hope to help sustain and grow

our section as an open, collaborative, and genuinely welcoming community for political communication

scholars throughout Europe.