This 'polycrisis' is further complexified by deep structural shifts. The rapid advance of digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises innovation but also signals a fundamental disruption of employment and social structures, raising new questions about inequality and human agency. Profound demographic changes, including persistent low fertility, rapid aging, and diversifying family structures, reveal that our existing social contracts are no longer sustainable.

Furthermore, these disruptions are unfolding within a volatile global context. Geopolitical instabilities, the resurgence of nationalism and xenophobia highlighted by migration crises, and cost-of-living pressures intensified by trade tensions all demonstrate that social policy can no longer be adequately conceived or implemented solely within national borders.

These 'multiple disruptions'—environmental, technological, demographic, and geopolitical—are not parallel but deeply intertwined, creating new, multi-dimensional challenges for social policy. They demand a fundamental rethinking of our established analytical frameworks, governance models, and institutional arrangements. This new reality requires us, as a research community, to move beyond single-issue analysis and seek complex, multi-dimensional solutions that adequately address these intersecting crises.

The EASP 2026 Annual Conference aims to convene scholars to critically examine these complex challenges. We seek to foster a robust discussion on how social policy is responding to, and being reshaped by, this era of multiple disruptions. Reflecting the network's commitment to broadening its scope, we particularly welcome research that includes the context of Southeast Asia alongside East Asia. We invite theoretical, comparative, and empirical papers that explore the intersections of these crises, assess the resilience and innovation of existing welfare systems, and propose new paradigms for a sustainable and just future.