Dissertation Research
Victor M. Olivieri is currently studying the physiological effects
of
European identity with a cross-regional field experiment measuring
testosterone and cortisol fluctuations in EU citizens across the United
Kingdom and Spain.
The physiological effects of European identity will constitute the
penultimate chapter of his dissertation, which will be completed in
2014. The research has been generously funded by the Economic and
Social Research Council Transformative Research Grant under the
supervision of Professor Laura Cram (PI). Their project "Physiology,
Identity and Behaviour: A Neuropolitical Perspective" combines
physiological factors and neural brain immaging (fMRI) with attitudinal
research to triangulate the effects of identity on politics.
Forms of collective identity have been shown to be a major
factor in determining political behavior, support and participation in
the EU, but European identity has been an elusive concept for
political scientists. A more complete and nuanced
understanding of this supranational identity and its political implications
requires the triangulation of a cross-regional ethnographic approach with attitudinal and experimental findings.
Victor's initial dissertation research deployed focus groups, semi-structured interviews and participant observation across multiple regions in Spain and UK. The first country case-study was successfully conducted across six Spanish regions between June and August of 2010, yielding 241 participants and very compelling findings. A repeat visit "replicated" the in-country research to gain a longitudinal understanding of the formation of European identity across seven regions of Spain between June and August of 2012.
The first research trip to the UK and Ireland was completed in 2011, confirming the value of my methodological approach and revealing interesting patterns across the regions and countries. A second visit to the UK between July and August 2012 provided a "replication" of the initial visit and the opportunity to investigate the formation of European identity during a time of peak identity politics (2012 London Olympic Games). The third and final dissertation research trip was conducted throughout the UK from September 2012 to January 2013.
The last phase of the dissertation research will conduct a field experiment across nine of the same research sites from the ethnographic research: London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff, Exeter, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Granada. The details of this experimental approach, including all protocols and findings will be made available through this website as the project is underway.
Ultimately, this is the start of a project which should be carried out in the multiple sites offered by the whole of Europe and its periphery. I encourage other researchers interested in European identity, collective identity formation or identity politics to contact me via email.
Supranational Identity and Conflict
What is supranational identity? This research approaches the question by focusing on how the formation of European identity affects various forms of conflict across levels on analysis. Socially constructed divisions between perceived in-groups and out-groups delineate boundaries upon which various forms of conflict take place. This conflict can take the shape of anything from subtle discursive contestations of meaning at a pub, to mass protests in Spain, rioting in North London, sectarian violence in Ireland, and right-winged extremism throughout Europe. The purpose of my research is not to challenge the reasoning behind why such conflict occurs – the goal is to trace the social construction of cleavages and the use of semiotic practices as markers to explore patterns created by sociocultural and geopolitical divides and the effect European identity has upon them.
"What is conflict?" is a question that will certainly depend on one's perspective. Being that my research focuses on a cross-level mechanism of collective identity formation, a cross-level understanding of conflict, from the individual to the international level, is most appropriate. While individual contestations of meaning are far from the open field cavalry charges of early Europe, it is helpful to place the various forms of conflict on a continuum for the purpose of this research.
![[cavalry charge]](_styles/images/charge.jpg)
