Dr Simona Guerra

Lecturer in Politics

BA (Pisa), MA (Siena, Cracow, Strasbourg), MSc (Sussex), DPhil (Sussex)

Contact details:

Tel: +44(0) 116 252 5771

Fax: +44 (0) 116 252 5082

Email: gs219@leicester.ac.uk

Semester 2 office hours: Tues, 2.30-4.30pm

Background

Simona joined the Department of Politics and International Relations in May 2012.

Previously, she lectured at the University of Nottingham (2008-2010) and at Loughborough University (2010-2012). 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 a visiting research student at the Political and Social Sciences department, European University Institute, in Fiesole, Italy (September-December 2006) and held scholarships to visit the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, and the Boston University CURA (Culture, Religion and World Affairs) Institute.

Simona is a guest lecturer for the MA in European Studies at the Centre of Research on European Integration (University of Siena, Italy), a member of the Centre for Parties and Democracy, University of Sussex; UACES, University Association for Contemporary European Studies; and co-convenes the Assessing Accession Study Group. In 2010 she was elected as UACES Committee Member & Trustee and she is co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary European Research (September 2012-).

Research Interests

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. 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. Voting behaviour and political engagement were 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, 2010-2012). I am also a member of the UACES Euroscepticism CRN where I convene the sub-group on civil society and Euroscepticism and have co-organised with Dr Nathalie Brack a workshop on 'Studying Euroscepticism' for the CRONEM Annual Multidisciplinary Conference 2013, University of Surrey (2-3 July).

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 Loughborough University 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, Loughborough University).

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’.

Simona is available for supervision of PhD students in all areas of her research interests.

PhD students:

'The Politics of Information. Eurostat's Role in Informing the European Union of Social Inclusion and Migration' (Deborah Werner)

'Fighting Political Corruption: The Case of Kurdistan' (Hemn Jameel)

'How Protest Matter for Representation: Linking Party Types and Protest' (Daniel Bischof)

Publications

Books

2014: Euroscepticism in the EU: New Dimensions in Opposition to European Integration, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, New Horizons in European Politics Series,  (with Simon Usherwood and Nick Startin).

2013: Central and Eastern European Attitudes in Face of the Union. A Comparative Perspective, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Edited volumes

2013: 'Confronting Euroscepticism', Journal of Common Market Studies, Special Issue, January (with Simon Usherwood and Nick Startin).

Refereed journals

2013: ‘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, DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5965.2012.02300.x.

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), DOI: 10.1080/15705854.2010.503033.

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 (with Sarah de Lange), DOI: 10.1016/j.postcomstud.2009.10.006

2009: ‘Election or Referendum?: The 2007 Polish Parliamentary Election’, Representation, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 75-85 (with Monika Bil), DOI:10.1080/00344890802710789

Book chapters

2014: 'What is euroscepticism and how do we measure it?' in Simon Usherwood, Nick Startin and Simona Guerra (eds) Euroscepticism in the EU: New Dimensions in Opposition to European Integration, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, New Horizons in European Politics Series.

2013: ‘Public Opinion and the EU’ in Michelle Cini and Nieves Pérez-Solórzano (eds) European Union Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4^th ed. (with Lauren McLaren).

2012: 'Poles in the EU: Prior to and After Accession' in Agata Dziewulska and Anna M. Ostrowska (eds) New neighbours - on the diversity of migrants' political involvement, Centre for Europe, University of Warsaw.

2012: 'Le cinque stelle e il populismo' ('Five Stars and Populism') in G. Civati (ed) La rivendicazione della politica. Cinque stelle, mille domande e qualche risposta (Politics' claim. Five Stars, thousands questions and a few answers) with Simona Guerra and Francesco Astore, Arezzo: Libera Stampa.

2012: 'Communicating with the Polish community in the UK? The VAA at the 2011 UK local elections' in Agata Dziewulska and Anna M. Ostrowska (eds) Europeisation of political rights: Voter Advice Application and migrant mobilisation in 2011 UK elections, Centre for Europe, University of Warsaw (with Anna Figarska).

2012: ‘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.

2010: ‘The League of Polish Families between East and West, Past and Present’ in Michael 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 (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, Storia italiana e integrazione europea, 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, 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 No. 41, Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, Brighton (with Emanuele Massetti).

2006: ‘The Italian Parliamentary Elections of April 2006’, EPERN Election Briefing No. 25, Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, Brighton (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 No. 1, European Studies Papers, edited by Ariane Landuyt, C.R.I.E., Università degli Studi di Siena.

Book Reviews

2012: ‘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, Vol. 90, No. 1, pp. 183-185.

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.