Affective Perceptions and Populist Securitization Narratives: A Psychological Approach
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: POLSIS
Abstract
In a time in which right-wing populism is gaining increasing support and a prominent role in articulating security issues to the public, it is necessary to disentangle its interconnections with processes of threat construction, security perceptions and citizens' emotionality, which have not been addressed by previous literature but made strikingly evident by recent developments. This project integrates the literature on securitization to the studies on populism in an attempt to unpack the processes characterizing populism's construction of security narratives and the emotional patterns such narratives may generate. Unpacking such processes means unpacking the 'structures' of communication involved in securitization and contributing to explaining how a securitizing move occurs. By investigating directly from the target recipients how the securitizing message is internalized, the research favours an audience-centred perspective, which has been relegated to a passive role and thus inadequately taken into account. I am interested in paying particular analytical attention to the factors that attract audiences to some ideas and discourses over others, in order to potentially single out which populist stimuli may be more powerful for which citizens. The psychological component of the study, with its focus on the cognitive and emotional processes behind security perceptions and internalizations, will not only help with this but might also serve as a key to explain conservative thinking in populist supporters who do not align with conservatism in the ideological spectrum, thus confirming Taber and Young's (2013) preliminary claim that cognitive processes may cause ideology.
Publications
Albertazzi D
(2021)
The right-wing alliance at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic: all change?
in Contemporary Italian Politics
Bonansinga D
(2021)
Insecurity narratives and implicit emotional appeals in French competing populisms
in Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research
Verbalyte M
(2022)
When emotions run high: affective responses to crises in Europe
in Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research
Bonansinga D.
(2020)
Who thinks, feels: the relationship between emotions, politics and populism
in Partecipazione e Conflitto (PACO)
Bonansinga D
(2022)
'A threat to us': The interplay of insecurity and enmity narratives in left-wing populism
in The British Journal of Politics and International Relations
Albertazzi D
(2021)
Populism and New Patterns of Political Competition in Western Europe
Albertazzi D
(2021)
Populism and New Patterns of Political Competition in Western Europe
Albertazzi D., Bonansinga D., Zulianello M.
(2021)
Politica in Italia
Bonansinga D
(2019)
Tidal Waves? The Political Economy of Populism and Migration in Europe
Studentship Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ES/J50001X/1 | 01/10/2011 | 02/04/2022 | |||
1929290 | Studentship | ES/J50001X/1 | 01/10/2017 | 28/02/2022 | Donatella Bonansinga |
ES/P000711/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
1929290 | Studentship | ES/P000711/1 | 01/10/2017 | 28/02/2022 | Donatella Bonansinga |
Description | Internal report during PhD Policy Placement with Shout Out UK |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | School of Government Bursary |
Amount | £14,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Birmingham |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2017 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | ECPR Joint Sessions, Workshop on Emotions and Populism |
Organisation | European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I was the Director of the workshop on Emotions and Populism at the 2019 ECPR Joint Sessions in Mons (Belgium). By leading this workshop, I contributed to the development of a network of scholars working on the relevance of emotionality for populist success, both on the demand and supply side of populist politics. |
Collaborator Contribution | The workshop was co-directed by Monika Verbalyte from the Free University in Berlin and attended by 15 participants from European and American universities, who are now actively contributing to publishing two special issues with us. |
Impact | The collaboration is multi-disciplinary and it includes political scientists, sociologists and political psychologists. Two Special Issues are in progress and are scheduled to be published in late 2021 and early 2022. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Annual UK Political Psychology Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Annual UK Political Psychology Conference, now at its 3rd year, brings together early career researchers, senior scholars, and members of the public for discussions on a wide array of topics in political psychology. It is the result of the collaborative effort of four political psychology sections: Political Studies Association (PSA), British Psychological Society (BPS), European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) and the Institute for Conflict Cooperation and Security of the University of Birmingham (ICCS). I have co-convened it since its inception in 2018 as a representative of both the PSA and ICCS political psychology groups. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2021 |
Description | Girls Do Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | This local event, held at the Birmingham Impact Hub, aimed at sensitizing the public to the unbalance of gender representation in research and to inspire young girls to pursue a scientific career. I was invited by the organizers to give a talk on my field of research and I delivered a presentation on what does it mean to research and study emotions, politics and psychology. At the end of the presentations session, I was assigned a table and I engaged directly with young participants, having them perform a true/false game that revolved around some fascinating research findings in my field of study. The organizers reported excellent feedback for the event and an impact on young girls' motivation to embark on university studies later in their careers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://birmingham.impacthub.net/event/girls-do-science/ |
Description | Has the Pandemic Changed Populism in Italy? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Blog post on a recent co-authored publication, for dissemination to the wider public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://more.bham.ac.uk/populism-in-action/2021/05/17/has-the-pandemic-changed-populism-in-italy/ |
Description | How do populists respond to growing insecurities? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Blog post on a recent academic publication of mine, for dissemination to the wider public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://more.bham.ac.uk/populism-in-action/2021/10/19/how-do-populists-respond-to-growing-insecuriti... |
Description | School Visit (St. Paul's, London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | I was invited to give a lunch-time talk about populism at St.Paul's School in London, for their EuroSoc society. My talk revolved around the recent rise of populism across Europe and aimed at familiarising young students with 'what is populism, how do we spot it, and why do we care'. The presentation was attended by 10-12 A-level students and was followed by a lively Q&A session, with students showing a strong interest in European politics and in pursuing politics studies in the near future. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |