Academics
Simona Guerra, MA, MSc, DPhil
Lecturer in Politics |
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Simona joined the Department of Politics, History and International Relations at Loughborough University in September 2010. Previously, she worked as Teaching Fellow at the School of Politics and International Relations, at the University of Nottingham (2008-2010), and as Researcher, at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University (2008).
Simona gained her MA in European Studies at the University of Siena, Italy - attending modules at the Instytut Spraw Publicznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński in Krakow, Poland, and at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Europeénnes, Université Robert Schuman in Strasbourg, France - and her MSc in Social Research Methods at the University of Sussex. She completed her DPhil in Contemporary European Studies at the University of Sussex in September 2008.
During her doctoral years Simona was granted scholarships to attend the ESRC Oxford Spring School on Structural Equation Modelling (2006), the Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis & Collection (2007), and was awarded the 2007 UACES Scholarship for fieldwork in Poland by the European Commission and UACES. Between September and December 2006, she was a visiting student at the Political and Social Sciences department, European University Institute, in Fiesole, Italy. In 2009 and 2010 she was awarded scholarships to visit as researcher the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona; and the Boston University CURA (Culture, Religion and World Affairs) Institute.
Simona is a member of the Centre for Parties and Democracy, University of Sussex; UACES, University Association for Contemporary European Studies; and has co-convened the BASEES Study Group Assessing Accession. In 2010 she was elected as UACES Committee Member & Trustee, and joined the editorial board of The Journal of Contemporary European Research.
Simona’s research interests are split into three main topics that are inter-related to her doctoral research, on attitudes towards European integration in Central and Eastern Europe, as follows:
Euroscepticism and Populism
My main research interest is in attitudes towards European integration and turnout in European Parliament elections in post-communist new EU Member States and candidate countries, and the impact of the domestic context. The questions I aim to answer are the following: how determinants of support for and opposition to European integration change before and after accession?; When do Eurosceptic parties gain success in CEE?; When do populist parties use Euroscepticism?
I further examine these themes, and elections in Poland and Italy, in the European Parties Election & Referendums Network. I am also a member of the UACES Euroscepticism CRN (see also). Voting behaviour and political engagement are also studied in the EU-funded project, ‘Voting in the UK: Voting Advice Application for Polish and Lithuanian Immigrants’ (PI in the UK, project led by the University of Warsaw, with Loughborough University and MyPolitIQ, Lithuania, ).
Religion and Politics
Analyses on religion and politics have focused on the process of secularisation and indicated a lack of comparative studies on religion as a social and political actor. In my analysis I investigate the role of the Church in the public life and answer 'if', 'when' and 'how' it strategically chooses to become a Eurosceptic political actor. The comparative perspective on Central and Eastern European countries offers a contribution to the literature on the economics of religion, the politics of the Catholic Churches in post-communist Europe, and Euroscepticism.
Governance and Corruption
Following the award of the SPG Seedcorn Grant 2011 (Activity title: Governance, Corruption and Anti-Corruption Policies: The EU and members states, candidate and third countries.), I examine how the EU frames its policies in relation to corruption in current member states, candidate and third countries. This study aims to contribute towards this task by a novel focus on the role of the EU within debates which draws from both the political science literature on governance and the EU and an emerging critical geography and critical management studies literature on global anti-corruption initiatives in order to provide an original inter-disciplinary perspective on the issue (with Dr Ed Brown, Department of Geography).
The domestic politics of European integration
I am generally interested in the history and politics of EU integration; in the impact of integration on the accession states, but also at the EU institutional level, and the new balance among the enlarged EU. That is a theme of the network ‘Assessing Accession’.
Publications:
Detailed searchable list of publications
Books
Central and Eastern European Attitudes in the Face of the Union. A Comparative Perspective, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (forthcoming).
Edited volumes
'Confronting Euroscepticism', Journal of Common Market Studies, Special Issue, January 2013 (with Simon Usherwood and Nick Startin).
Refereed journals
‘Does familiarity breed contempt? Determinants of public support for European integration and opposition to it before and after accession’, Journal of Common Market Studies, Special Issue, January 2013.
2010: ‘Not Just Europeanization, Not Necessarily Populism: Potential factors underlying the mobilization of populism in Ireland and Poland’ Perspectives on European Politics and Society, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 273-291 (co-authored with John FitzGibbon).
2009: ‘The League of Polish Families between East and West, past and present’, The Journal of Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 527-549 (co-authored with Sarah de Lange).
2009: ‘Election or Referendum?: The 2007 Polish Parliamentary Election’, Representation, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 75-85 (co-authored with Monika Bil).
Book chapters
‘Eurosceptic Allies or Euroenthusiast Friends? The Political Discourse of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland’, in Lucian Leustan (ed) Does God Matter? Representing Religion in the European Union, London: Routledge, Series on Religion and Politics (forthcoming).
2010: ‘The League of Polish Families between East and West, Past and Present’ in M. Minkenberg (ed.) Historical Legacies and the Radical Right in Post-Cold War Central and Eastern Europe, afterword by Sabrina P. Ramet, Stuttgart: Ibidem Verlag, Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics & Society Series, pp. 123-155 (co-authored with Sarah de Lange).
2008: ‘Euroentusiasmo e voto euroscettico: la Polonia dopo l'ingresso nell'Unione europea’ ‘Euroenthusiasm and Eurosceptic Voting: Poland after Accession’), in ‘Europa vicina e lontana’, edited by F. Di Sarcina, L. Grazi e L. Scichilone, Franco Angeli Editore, Roma.
2007: ‘Public opinion before and after accession: the case of Poland’, in L. Gatnar and D. Lane (eds) Popular Opposition and Support for Different Types of the EU, Brno: Tribun EU, selected papers after the conference ‘Elites and the EU Enlargement’.
2006: ‘I referenda europei in Polonia: opinione pubblica e partiti politici’ (‘The European Referenda in Poland: Public Opinion and Political Parties’), in F. Di Sarcina, L. Grazi and L. Scichilone (eds) Europa in progress. Idee, istituzioni e politiche nel processo di integrazione europea, Franco Angeli Editore, Roma.
Working papers, Electoral Briefings, Professional journals, Analyses and Contributions
2011: ‘Euroscepticism ‘endemic’ across religious organisations?’, Public Service Europe, 14 September
2011: ‘The Legacy of the communist past and the process of democratization: the case of Poland', Officina della Storia, 6 July
2010: ‘Le elezioni europee in Polonia e Repubblica Ceca’ (‘The 2009 Polish and Czech European parliament elections’) in Officina della storia. Storia italiana e integrazione europea (Italian volume regarding Italy, European integration and the EU member states), 2/2009.
2009: ‘Diversity and the European Public Sphere: Towards a Citizens’ Europe. The Case of United Kingdom’, Report written for the Eurosphere FP6 integrated project (with K. Wahl-Jorgensen, S. Cushion, I. Garcia-Blanco, D. Tsagalas),
2008: ‘The Italian Parliamentary Elections of April 2008’, EPERN Election Briefing, Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, Brighton (co-authored with Emanuele Massetti).
2006: ‘The Italian Parliamentary Elections of April 2006’, EPERN Election Briefing No. 25, Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, Brighton (co-authored with Emanuele Massetti).
2002: ‘La Polonia e l’allargamento ad Est dell’Unione europea: le posizioni della Francia e della Germania’ (‘Poland and the Eastward Enlargement of the European Union: the French and German Positions’), Paper n° 1, European Studies Papers, edited by Ariane Landuyt, C.R.I.E., Università degli Studi di Siena.
Book Reviews
Democratic Elections in Poland, 1991-2007 by F. Millard (2010) BASEES/Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies, Abingdon, Oxon and New York, 2010. xvi + 218 pp., Slavonic & East European Review (forthcoming).
2010: European Elections and Domestic Politics. Lessons from the Past and Scenarios for the Future by W. van der Brug and C. van der Eijk (eds) (2007) Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, Party Politics, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 418-420.