
Dr Simona Guerra
Biography
Simona joined the Department of Politics, at the University of Surrey, in June 2020.
Recently she has also been appointed Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, in Bruges, where she contributes with a module on Euroscepticism, below her previous appointments:
- Acting Head of School, University of Leicester (July 2018-January 2019);
- Deputy Head of School, University of Leicester (April 2017-August 2019);
- Associate Professor, University of Leicester (September 2016-June 2020);
- Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Leicester (April–September 2016);
- Associate Professor, 14/C3, by direct appointment of an Italian citizen currently working abroad, Scuola di Studi Internazionale and the Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, University of Trento (art. 15 comma 6, D.R.n.563, 29.10.2013), January 2016, declined;
- Lecturer in Politics, University of Leicester (May 2012-April 2016);
- Lecturer in Politics, Loughborough University (September 2010-May 2012);
- Teaching Fellow, University of Nottingham (September 2008-August 2010);
- Research Associate, Cardiff University (April-September 2008);
- Graduate Associate Tutor, Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex (January 2005-June 2007).
Simona has also been a Visiting Researcher at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, in 2019; at the University of Zagreb, in 2018; at the LSEE Research centre on South Eastern Europe, at the LSE, in 2017; at the Department of Politics, University of Sussex, in 2015-16; and at the Università Telematica La Sapienza, in Rome, in 2015. She has been guest lecturer for the Politics Summer School jointly organized by Canterbury Christ Church University and the Centre International de Formation Européen; for the MYEULINK project at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus; and the MA in European Studies, at the Università of Siena.
She has been an elected committed member at UACES (2010-2013), and Chief Editor of the Journal of Contemporary European Research (October 2012-September 2017). With Alexandra Segerberg (Uppsala University), she has been appointed as Chief Editor of the first ECPR Gold Open Access journal, in partnership with Taylor and Francis, Political Research Exchange (July 2017-2023), and is editorial board member of the Czech Journal of International Relations, Quaderni dell'Osservatorio elettorale (QOE) – Italian Journal of Electoral Studies (IJES), and The Journal of Language and Politics.
In 2019 Simona has been appointed spokesperson of the (Spanish) initiative EUDay to support the establishment of 9 May as a European holiday across the EU Member States. She gave a talk at the European Parliament with the MEPs who supported the initiative (29 January 2019), and answered questions at the Press Conference. The EP approved the initiative that has now moved to the Council decision. This is linked to Simona’s ongoing research findings (2013 book and current project) and the chapter published with Fabio Serricchio (2014).
Research
Research interests
Simona’s main research interests focus on the contested domestic politics of EU integration. With her doctoral research, she addressed the question on how attitudes change before and after accession. This has been published with Palgrave, in 2013, and has later developed on how Euroscepticism changes, and the role of the media, in a new book, edited with Manuela Caiani, Euroscepticism, Democracy and the Media (Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology) and released in 2017. More recently Simona has contributed to the Routledge book on Euroscepticism as a Transnational and Pan-European Phenomenon, the Routledge Handbook of Euroscepticism, an ECPR volume on the impact of populism on party systems, and articles with a focus on Brexit, democracy, discontent and populism, religion and politics, informality and corruption, and transnational Euroscepticism.
Grants and Honours (selected):
Up to this academic year, I have obtained, as both PI and Co-I, an overall amount, of about 1,490,600 Euros from funded research grants.
2020-21: Chaire Internationale”, ULB in Brussels, 2019/20 academic year (with a - up to- 2,350 Euros grant). Project on Euroscepticism (June 2021).
2017-2020: (Invited) COST member, ProSEPS (Professionalisation and Social Impact of European Political Science) COST Action CA15207, led by the University of Bologna (Italy)
Awarded (and closed):
2019: ‘Euroscepticism, Emotions and the Everyday (EMOTIVE)’, College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, University of Leicester, £ 4,260.00 (11 March-31 July 2019).
2018: ‘Euroscepticism and emotion in contemporary contentious politics – A study on Europe as the Other in post-2016 referendum Britain’, School of History, Politics and International Relations Research Fund, University of Leicester, £1,110.00 (June-July 2018).
2018: ‘AlterDem: Alternative Democratic actors in the Western Balkans’, College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, University of Leicester, £ 3,490.00 (8-21 July 2018).
2017: Research Development Partnership Fund to organize a workshop and strengthen research networks (within and beyond the UACES CRN ‘Europe and the Everyday: Grassroots, EU and the Politics of Crisis’) in Southeastern Europe. Workshop organized at the Museum of War Childhood, Sarajevo, with the support of the School of Technology, on Europe and the Everyday, the Politics of Crisis, ‘Democratic ‘façade’ - Re-assessment of the process of Europeanization and democratization in the region’ (7 July 2017) (1,750.00 GBP).
2016: ‘Brexit or Bremain: Britain and the June 2016 European referendum’, with Roberta Guerrina and Theofanis Exadaktylos (University of Surrey) (June-July 2016, 10,000.00 GBP).
2016: UACES Collaborative Research Network, ‘Europe and the Everyday: Grassroots, EU and the Politics of Crisis’, with Jelena Obradović-Wochnik (Aston University) and Soeren Keil (Canterbury Christ Church), 5,000.00 GBP (Start: April 2016, 36 months).
2014: Montalcini Programme Award 2012 (by a Decree of the Italian Ministry for Education, Universities and Research, Prot. 2326, 5 February 2014), International Promotion for Young Researchers to temporarily recruit outstanding post-docs working abroad, research project on public Euroscepticism, ‘Eurosceptic, Euroneutral, Euroenthusiast: Towards a framework of analysis’, 191,273.66 Euro (36 months) (Accepted: February 2014; Declined: August 2014).
2014-2017: ESRC ORA grant, ‘Pathways to Power: The Political Representation of Citizens of Immigrant Origin in Seven European Democracies’, as CoI (UK Team), 720,106.00 GBP (36 months), start date: May 2014.
2013: UACES Small Event Grant, ‘Sacred and Secular: Researching the Role of Religion in Contemporary Europe’, with Dr Ben Clements, 962.00 GBP (Funding the organization of a workshop, 21 June 2013).
2010: PI, Grant Award, SPG Seedcorn Research Fund Award, Loughborough University, on ‘Governance, Corruption and Anti-Corruption Policies: The EU and members states, candidate and third countries’ (November 2011-May 2012) with Dr Ed Brown, School of Geography, Loughborough University, 1,500.00 GBP.
2010-2012: PI, Grant Award J12823, European Commission, DG Justice Grant, Loughborough University CI, PI in UK, ‘VAA for Poles and Lithuanians in the UK’, overall project budget: 331,462.33 Euros (24 months). Project led by the University of Warsaw, with Loughborough University, then University of Leicester, and Mypolitiq (Lithuania).
My teaching
In the Academic Year 2020/21:
- POL1018 Evolution of an Integrated Europe
- POL2027 Approaches to Research (contributions)
- POL2026 Electoral Systems and Voting Behaviour (co-taught with Dr Roula Nezi)
- POL3061 Dissertations
- POL3067 Engendering World Politics (co-taught with Dr Laura Chappell)
- POLM015 Key Issues in International Politics
At the College of Europe (in Bruges): Euroscepticism, Contested Politics, and Emotions
Teaching Awards & Administrative Grants:
- Nominated as Best Personal Tutor, Best Lecturer, Best Support Staff, Best practice in inclusive learning and teaching, “Simona Guerra has been the best lecturer for any module I have taken over the course of my degree. She was continuously positive and excited about what she was discussing and this rubbed off on all the students taking the course. She would always respond very quickly to any inquiries or questions sent to her by email at any point during the week with extremely valuable and helpful responses. It is hard to put to words, not only how good she was as a lecturer, but how positive and pleasant she is as a person. I wish her all the best.” (2018/19);
- Overall winner of the ‘Best Implementer of Student Feedback’ Award, University of Leicester Students’ Union, August 2018;
- Nominated for the Discovery Excellence Award, Category: Inspiring Leader, University of Leicester, July 2018;
- Nominated for the Award as Best Lecturer, Best practice in inclusive Learning & Teaching, and Best implementer of student feedback, University of Leicester Students’ Union, May 2018;
- Teaching Research Grant: ‘Enhancing Student Learning Experience: Assessment & Feedback, and Skills Confidence’, College of Social Science, Arts and Humanities Teaching Development Fund 2016-17 (2,780.00 GBP, January-July 2017);
- ‘Alumni Mentoring Scheme’ Project, awarded and funded by the Career Development Service and the College of Social Science, £ 14,520.00 (September-October 2013 and January-May 2014);
- Superstar Teaching Award, University of Leicester Students’ Union, July 2013;
- Short-listed as best lecturer of the year, ‘Loughborough Experience Awards 2012’, Loughborough University, May 2012;
- Loughborough University PHIR Students Society Award, Memorable Mention, 2011-2012;
- The University of Nottingham Politics Society 2009/2010 Award for Best Module in its year to Introduction to European Politics, and to the convener and teacher, June 2010.
My publications
Publications
Additional publications
Monographs:
Forthcoming: What is Euroscepticism? Unleashing Emotion in Contemporary Contentious Politics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
2013: Central and Eastern European Attitudes in the Face of the Union. A Comparative Perspective, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN-10: 0230279864 | ISBN-13: 978-0230279865.
Edited books:
2017: Euroscepticism, Democracy and the Media. Communicating Europe, Contesting Europe, Basingstoke: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology (with M. Caiani), ISBN 978-1-137-59642-0.
Edited volumes:
2013: ‘Confronting Euroscepticism’, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 51, No. 1, January (with S. Usherwood and N. Startin).
Refereed journals:
2020: ‘Veridiction and leadership in transnational populism: The case of DiEM25’, Politics and Governance, Vol. 8, No. 1 (with E. Fanoulis).
2019: ‘Immigration, that’s what everyone’s thinking about …’ The 2016 British EU referendum seen in the eyes of the beholder, Journal of Language and Politics, Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 651-670.
2018: ‘Gender, Ownership and Engagement during the EU Referendum: Gendered Frames and the reproduction of Binaries’, European Journal of Politics and Gender, Vol. 1, No. 3 (with R. Guerrina and T. Exadaktylos).
2017: ‘Anger and protest: referendum and opposition to the EU in Greece and the UK’, Cambridge Review of International Affairs (co-authored with E. Fanoulis), Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 305-324, Published online: 11 February 2018.
2017: ‘Without losing my religion: The dilemmas of EU integration in Poland’, Culture and Society: Journal of Social Research., Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 52-68.
2016: ‘Distrust Unbound: What next after joining the EU’, The Journal of Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 233-241.
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, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 38-50, Special Issue ‘Confronting Euroscepticism’.
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 J. 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 S. de Lange).
2009: ‘Election or Referendum?: The 2007 Polish Parliamentary Election’, Representation, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 75-85 (co-authored with M. Bil).
Book chapters:
2020: ’Poland and the EU: The historical roots of resilient forms of Euroscepticism among public Euroenthusiasm’, in M. Gilbert and D. Pasquinucci (eds) The Historical Roots of Euroscepticism, Amsterdam: Brill, European Studies Series.
2018: ‘Civil society and the EU’ in M. Cini and N. Perez-Solorzano (eds.) European Union Politics, Oxford University Press, 6th ed. (co-authored with H.J. Trenz).
2018: ‘Barone’ and ‘Bustarella’, The Encyclopedia of Global Informal Corruption, A. Ledeneva (ed.), London: UCL University Press.
2018: ‘Earthquake or Hurricane? The Rise and Fall of Populist Parties in Poland’, in S.B. Wolinetz and A. Zaslove (eds.) Absorbing the Blow? Populist Parties and their Impact on Party Systems (with F. Casal-Bértoa).
2017: ‘Young people and the EU: It’s about European perspective economic and life expectations’, in N. Startin, S. Usherwood and B. Leruth (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Euroscepticism, Abingdon: Routledge.
2017: El populismo en Polonia', in J. del Palacio, A. Rivero and J. Zarzalejos (eds.) Geografía del populismo: Un viaje por el universo del populismo desde sus orígenes hasta Trump, Ciencía Politica, Madrid: Tecnos (with F. Casal Bértoa).
2017: ‘Eurosceptic voices: beyond party systems, across civil society’, in M. Caiani and S. Guerra (eds.) Euroscepticism, Democracy and The Media. Communicating Europe, Contesting Europe. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (and Introduction and Conclusion).
2016: ‘Between dialogue and Euroscepticism: an analysis of the religious discourse at the EU level’ in J. FitzGibbon, B. Leruth and N. Startin (eds.) ‘The emergence of a new sphere of opposition: Euroscepticism as a transnational and pan- European phenomenon?’, Abingdon: Routledge.
2015: ‘Public Opinion and the EU’ in M. Cini and N. Perez-Solorzano (eds.) European Union Politics, Oxford University Press, 5th ed. (with L. McLaren, as first author).
2014: ‘Determinants of Support for EU Integration: West & Politics and East & Economy or EU Identity’ in B. Stefanova (ed.) The European Union beyond the Crisis: Evolving Governance, Contested Policies, and Disenchanted Publics, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, Rowman & Littlefield (with F. Serricchio).
Selected contributions:
2020: ‘The politics of the EU as crisis, mobilization and catharsis’, Comparative European Politics, DOI: 10.1057/s41295-020-00217-2
2020: Brexit: The EU27’s momentary Lapse of Unity, Political Insight, June.
2020: Democratic Backsliding, Poland’s election and COVID-19: What needs to be considered?, LSE Europp blog, 24th April.
2020: Between safety and surveillance, Controcorrente, SGOC COVID19 Blog, 5th April.
2019: ‘More in common: the emotional experience of Brexit in the eyes of generations’, LSE Brexit blog, 3 October (available here).
2019: ‘Siamo tutti euroscettici? Non esattamente. Ecco perché’, La Repubblica and Society of Electoral Studies (Società Italiana di Studi Politici), 24 April (available here).
2019: ‘The Affective Understanding of Post-Brexit European Integration’, DCU Brexit Institute, 20 February (available here).
2018: ‘What Euroscepticism looks like in Central and Eastern Europe’, LSE Brexit blog, 4 January (available here).
2017: ‘Akademička, ktorá skúma euroskepsu: Potrebujeme, aby ľudia Európu zažili’, Euroactiv Slovakia, 27 December (available here).
2017: ‘What is public Euroscepticism?’, Think, University of Leicester, 20 December (available here).
2017: ‘Euroscepticism has taken hold across the EU - but it has many different roots’, LSE Brexit blog, 19 July (available here).
2017: ‘Post-Referendum Britain: Hopeful or Uncertain?’, (with T. Exadaktylos and R. Guerrina), The Policy Space, University of Canberra and Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, 10 April (available here).
2016: ‘What Europe must do...’, The Conversation, 27 June.
2016: ‘Academics bring expertise to Brexit debate’, 23 May.
2016: ‘The Polish Catholic Church has become intertwined with Euroscepticism and the promotion of conservative “national values”’, The Democratic Audit UK, 28 April and LSE EUROPP blog, 2 May.
2016: ‘Europe wades into debate over Poland's constitutional crisis’, The Conversation, 27 January (with F. Casal Bértoa).
2015: ‘The year in elections. Poland: right turn’, The Conversation, 1 January (with F. Casal Bértoa).
2015: ‘How Poland's political landscape was redrawn overnight’, The Conversation, 27 October (with F. Casal Bértoa).
2015: ‘Surprise election loss for Polish president spells trouble for governing party’, The Conversation, 26 May.
2014: ‘Politicians fiddling while Rome burns?’, The Conversation’, 10 December.
2014: ‘Angry Young Europeans?: Croatian Attitudes towards the EU in comparative perspective’, The European Parties Elections and Referendums Network (EPERN) blog.