Institutions at Bay? Regional Integration and Identity Politics. Identity politics are back, and often paired with a rejection of the norms and institutions of the liberal order. Economics and power are insufficient to explain today’s illiberal and nativist trend. To understand this phenomenon, we need to explore the interplay between local and national identities and the broader senses of community which international institutions and regional organizations (ROs) promote. Drawing on both political science and social anthropology, the project argues that international institutions do shape identity, but this process is mediated by local politics, daily experiences, and articulated beliefs.

Our theory-building explores these identity and community building dynamics across a diverse set of cases in three regions: Europe and the European Union, with a focus on Germany; Africa and the Africa Union, considering the Republic of South Africa; and Asia and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, examining Singapore.

The project harnesses an interdisciplinary set of theories and methods to understand better the practices and mechanisms through which identities change, and the role RO’s play in this process. From political science and international relations, we draw upon institutional theory, process tracing and standard interview methods; from social anthropology, we utilize practice theory, ethnography and interpretive interviewing. This epistemological, theoretical and methodological pluralism is the project’s backbone – one that results in new theory for explaining identity and identity change in today’s globalized yet increasingly inward-looking world.

Our findings will provide novel insights on the tools and policies that RO’s and states can mobilize to counter the populist backlash against the institutions of the liberal order. These institutions are indeed increasingly ‘at bay’- be it over the global economy, climate change or identity. To reverse or at least slow this trend, we must first understand it.

This project is funded by EUI's Research Council and included in the Institute's Research Hub.

 

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Google Scholar (January 2022): Publications = 69; Citations = 19,982; h-index = 43.

"Process Tracing and International Political Economy," in Jon Pevehouse and Leonard Seabrooke, Editors, Oxford Handbook of International Political Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021 - Author

“Methods in Constructivist Approaches,” in Alexandra Gheciu and William Wohlforth, Editors, Oxford Handbook of International Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018 - Author

"Socialization and Violence,” Special Issue of Journal of Peace Research Vol.54, No.5 (September 2017) - Editor

“Socialization and Violence: Introduction and Framework,” Journal of Peace Research Vol.54, No.5 (September 2017) - Author

Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015 – Co-editor and Author

"Process Tracing - Towards a New Research Agenda," Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Political Science Association (Seattle, Washington), 29 September - 3 October 2021

"Research Transparency and Open Science: Can We Have Too Much of a Good Thing?" Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Political Science Association (Virtual), 10-13 September 2020

"International Institutions and Domestic Politics: Rethinking the Institutions–Identity Nexus," Paper presented at the European Consortium for Political Research General Conference (Virtual), 24-28 August 2020

“Identity and (International) Institutions,” Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), December 2019

“Institutions at Bay? Rethinking the Connection between International Institutions and Identity,” University of Potsdam, December 2019

“Research on Norms: Thinking beyond Institutions,” Keynote Address, Conference on “Liberal Biases in IR Norms Research,” University of Giessen, December 2019

“Social Science in an Era of Transparency,” Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, November 2019

“Data Access, Transparency and Open Science: Can We Have Too Much of a Good Thing?” Peace Research Institute Oslo, April 2017

Associate Editor, Journal of Peace Research

Associate Editor, International Relations Theory, Cambridge Elements Series, Cambridge University Press

Member, Editorial Board, Journal of International Relations and Development

European University Institute

Workshop – Philosophy of Social Science (3rd Term, Academic Year 2021-2022)

Seminar – Introduction to Qualitative Methods (2nd Term, Academic Year 2021-2022)

Seminar - Field Seminar: International Relations Theory (1st Term, Academic Year 2021-2022)

Workshop – Philosophy of Social Science (3rd Term, Academic Year 2020-2021)

Workshop - Ideas, Identities, Causality and Epistemologies (3rd Term, Academic Year 2020-2021)

Seminar – Introduction to Qualitative Methods (2nd Term, Academic Year 2020-2021)

Seminar – International Institutions and Global Governance (1st Term, Academic Year 2020-2021)

Workshop – Process Tracing in Field Research (3rd Term, Academic Year 2019-2020)

Seminar – Introduction to Qualitative Methods (2nd Term, Academic Year 2019-2020)

Seminars and Workshops (External)

Short Course - Process Tracing (American Political Science Association Annual Convention, September 2022)

Seminar - Advanced Qualitative Methods in Conflict Studies: Case Research and Process Analytics (Research School on Peace & Conflict, Peace Research Institute Oslo, August 2022)

Workshop - Process Tracing and Practice Analytics (SCRIPTS Cluster of Excellence, Freie Universitaet Berlin, May 2022)

Seminar - Advanced Qualitative Methods in Conflict Studies: Case Research and Process Analytics (Research School on Peace & Conflict, December 2021)

Short Course - The Logic and Best Practices of Process Tracing (American Political Science Association Annual Convention, September 2021)

Seminar - European Identity (European Integration Summer School, June 2021)

Seminar - Process Tracing (European Integration Summer School, June 2021)

Seminar - Dynamics of Armed Conflict (Research School on Peace & Conflict, May 2021)

Seminar - Process Tracing (Berlin Graduate School of Global and Transregional Studies, Free University Berlin, January 2021)

Workshop - Interpretive Methods (Department of Political Science, Uppsala University, November 2020)

Short Course - Process Tracing (American Political Science Association Annual Convention, September 2020)

At EUI, I run and coordinate four working groups.

IR Theory Working Group - I run this group, which meets every two weeks during the academic year; it is for researchers and post-doctoral fellows working with me. We utilize it as a forum for presentations of work-in-progress (prospectuses, thesis chapters, drafts of conference papers); discussing current trends and controversies in IR theory, be they over ethics, data, meta-theory, theory or method; and critically evaluating arguments in the literature (journal articles, book chapters). The focus is on helping researchers and fellows make better arguments in their projects; skill building; and a bit of professional socialization. For more information, click here.

Qualitative and Fieldwork Working Group - Caitlin Proctor and I are the mentoring professors for this group, which is run by SPS PhD researchers. The Working Group is a knowledge exchange and community hub for researchers, post-doctoral fellows and faculty members with an interest in fieldwork, ethnography, interviewing and qualitative methodology more broadly. It serves as a forum to learn about, debate and discuss different aspects of fieldwork as well as to learn from each other’s experiences and practices. The Group meets every three weeks during the academic year; for more information, see their website or click here.

International Relations Working Group - I am the mentoring professor for this group, which is run by PhD researchers. It is a critical - but collegial - forum where researchers working on international relations broadly defined get feedback on their work.  The group also sponsors lectures and seminars with leading IR scholars, including Dr. Ayse Zarakol, Prof. Robert Keohane and Prof. Christian Reus-Smit. Members come from across the EUI community - Political and Social Sciences, other departments, as well as the Schuman Centre. Its website can be found here

The Legal and Political Theory Working Group - Martijn Hesselink and I are the mentoring professors for this group, which is again run by PhD researchers. It provides both established academics and researchers an opportunity to discuss and improve their theoretically-oriented work. One of the group’s most cherished traits is its openness. If your work deals with any strand of legal or political theory, or you simply think that your research will benefit from theoretical insights, this group is for you! For more details, click here

I welcome PhD proposals on a broad range of topics.

In terms of IR theory, I am especially interested in new theories built on inter-disciplinary grounds or that cut across epistemological boundaries. While I have long-standing interests in constructivism, I am equally at home working with other theoretical schools.

Aside from IR, I welcome projects on peace & conflict studies (rebel group mobilization, international interventions, civil wars), international institutions and organizations (governance, domestic-international linkages, legitimacy), identity politics, and European integration.

Methodologically, I can advise best on qualitative methods, but am open to other approaches. Whatever the method chosen - qualitative, quantitative, mixed, positivist or interpretive - the goal is for students to master a set of techniques that can be used in an operational, applied and ethically-sound way to explain-understand-critique the world around us.

• July 2021: Weissmies - North Ridge
• July 2020: Galenstock - South-East Spur
• July 2019: Grand Combin - Arête de Meitin
• July 2016: Bietschhorn - North Ridge
• July 2015: Taeschhorn - Southeast Ridge