Although other proposals will be welcome, we especially invite papers on the following topics:

• Social problems in Southern European Societies (poverty, violence, social exclusion, unemployment, etc.) -Social trends and social transformations (employment, science and innovation, education, family, gender issues, migration, etc.) -Social and cultural structures in the south of Europe (stratification, social classes, statuses, values, identities and cultural patterns);
• Institutions and governance (institutions related to welfare, education, politics, economy, etc.; informal institutions; institutional quality; institutional dependence) -Convergence and divergence in Southern European Societies (social differentiation and social convergence between southern European regions and countries. Convergence and divergence processes in the European Union domain and beyond);
• Social issues and trends in the Mediterranean Area, the Middle East and other areas of Europe with implications for Southern European Societies -The production of sociological knowledge for informing policy making in southern European regions and countries (applied research, orientation or research and relationship between sociological research and policy).