A new paper, co-authored with Sofia Vasilopoulou (KCL) & Liisa Taalving (Tartu), has been accepted for publication in European Union Politics.

Title: “Free to move, reluctant to share: Unequal opposition to transnational rights under the EU free movement principle”

Abstract: Free movement is simultaneously widely acclaimed and strongly contested in the European Union (EU). To address this apparent contradiction, we unpack EU freedom of movement into its different transnational rights and argue that opposition is unequal across entitlements. Using evidence from a unique survey, we show that citizens mainly contest welfare access. This transnational right implies costs for the host country and taps into perceptions of belonging and deservingness. Due to its association with ideas of national community and solidarity, access to welfare is more contested even among those who, in principle, should be favourable to such entitlements: inclusive national identifiers and EU supporters. Our findings underscore the challenge of creating an EU community that could underpin all transnational rights implied by free movement.

Keyword: EU attitudes, freedom of movement, public opinion, welfare, identity

MACIES-Madrid Centre for Interdisciplinary EUropean Studies receives funding from the Erasmus + programme as Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence!

Together with Juan Antonio Mayoral,  Juan Díez Medrano & a fantastic group of UC3M scholars, we hope to bring greater awareness to the UC3M community.

More info soon!

Our proposal “Redressing Radical Polarisation: Strengthening European Civil Spheres facing Illiberal Digital Media” (DepolarisingEU) has been funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST).

Under the leadership of María Luengo (UC3M), the project will bring together scientists from 11 different countries to create an interdisciplinary network that will advance common understanding of radical polarisation and identify successful interventions to de-escalate uncivil and undemocratic partisanship. The project will launch in the autumn of 2023, and last for four years.

Radio Nacional Española (RNE), Europa Abierta, interview by Nuria Sans, “Polonia: ¿en la puerta de salida de la UE?” (09/10/21), podcast of the interview available here

“Polonia ataca la línea de flotación de la Unión Europea” interview by Ana Alonso from El Independiente  (09/10/21)

I am very happy that on September 1st, 2021 I will start a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at the Department of Social Sciences, UC3M. I will continue being involved as a member of the research team of the ValCon project.

Our article “Of losers and laggards: The interplay of material conditions and individual perceptions in the shaping of EU discontent,” with Jorge Díaz Lanchas (ICADE) & Filippo di Pietro (US), has just been accepted in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society.

Abstract: Two principal strands of scholarship analyse the material roots of European Union (EU) discontent. Some focus on the effects of regional decline, while others examine
the role of individual socioeconomic factors. This paper brings these two
perspectives together. We argue that EU discontent is a multifaceted phenomenon
structured by the spatially-rooted interplay between individual and regional material
conditions and subjective perceptions. We apply PLS-SEM to Eurobarometer public
opinion data (2018-2019) and find that the geographical location and the
socioeconomic position shape EU discontent directly. However, material factors’
relevance for EU discontent is the greatest in structuring individual future
expectations. Furthermore, democratic dissatisfaction turns out to be a key factor,
pointing to the importance of institutional perceptions in the geography of discontent.

The pre-print will be available online shortly.

I am very honoured to be elected as a member of the Executive Board of the RC03 European Unification of the International Politica Science Association (IPSA).

Congratulations to the new chair, Daniela Vintila (University of Liège, Belgium), the new secretary, Angeliki Konstantinidou (Sciences Po Paris, France)  & the rest of the newly-elected Board members!

On June 21st, I will present the paper “Politics in Social and Digital Media in Europe: Preliminary Findings from the ValCon Survey” with the preliminary results of the ValCon survey at the CES Virtual 27th International Conference of Europeanists “Europe’s Past, Present, and Future: Utopias and Dystopias”

Panel: Value Conflicts in a Differentiated Europe and Beyond: Value Polarisation and the Digital Media

Chair: Stefan Wallaschek – Europe-University Flensburg

Participants:
Impact of globalisation and liberalisation on rightwing populism in developing countries
Kavyanjali Kaushik – Carlos III University in Madrid

Politics in Social and Digital Media in Europe: Preliminary Findings from the ValCon Survey
Aleksandra Sojka – Carlos III University in Madrid
Juan Díez Medrano – Carlos III University in Madrid

How Emotions drive Polarization in Europe: The Role of Anger, Fear, and Ressentiment
Monika Verbalyte – Europe-University Flensburg

Value pluralism and value conflicts in a differentiated European Union
Hans-Jörg Trenz – University of Copenhagen
Monika Eigmüller – University of Flensburg

Discussant: Céline Teney – University of Göttingen

I had the pleasure to discuss the visit of the Polish PM Morawiecki to Spain on the Spanish National Radio’s program dedicated to European politics “Europa Abierta”

EUROPA ABIERTA  España-Polonia: dos gobiernos antagónicos buscan entenderse

31.05.202118:10

My paper Supranational identification and migration attitudes in the European Union is now available as a BACES Working Paper (02-2021) at the Barcelona Center for European Studies, Pompeu Fabra University.