Supranational Groups Research Articles

COVID-19: Why Do People Refuse Vaccination? The Role of Social Identities and Conspiracy Beliefs: Evidence from Nationwide Samples of Polish Adults.

In the present research, we focus on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and empirically examine how different forms of social identity (defensive vs. secure national identity and identification with all humanity) and conspiracy beliefs are associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. In two cross-sectional nationwide surveys (Study 1, n = 432, and Study 2, n = 807), we found that willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 was negatively linked to national narcissism, but positively related to a secure national identification, that is, national identification without the narcissistic component. In both studies, we also found that the relationship between narcissistic (vs. secure) national identity and unwillingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 was mediated by COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs. These effects were present even when we accounted for basic demographics (Studies 1 and 2) and identification with all humanity (Study 2), which had been found to be a significant predictor of health behaviors during COVID-19. In line with previous research, identification with all humanity was positively associated with the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. We discuss the implications for understanding the role of the way in which people identify with their national and supranational groups in antiscience attitudes and (mal)adaptive behaviors during COVID-19 pandemic.

To Be Both (and More): Immigration and Identity Multiplicity

AbstractImmigrants and their descendants make up a growing share of the population in countries across Europe, North America, and Oceania. This large‐scale immigration challenges once relatively stable notions of ethnic, national (or regional), and religious identities. Immigrants and their children confront the task of defining themselves in a new and unfamiliar context. Questions regarding immigrants’ identifications with their ethnic and national groups—but also with local, religious, and supranational groups—have animated national policy debates. This special issue brings together research on migrants’ sense of a “being both,” and the research and policy implications of this particular form of multiple identification. This introductory article discusses the conceptualisation of multiple identification, the importance of group dynamics for the adoption of dual identities, as well as the implications of identification with multiple social groups for immigrants and their receiving societies.

Social representations of Latin American history and (post)colonial relations in Brazil, Chile and Mexico

Social representations of history play an important role in defining the identity of national and supranational groups such as Latin America, and also influencing present-day intergroup relations. In this paper, we discuss a study that aimed to analyse and compare social representations of Latin American history among Brazilian, Chilean, and Mexican participants. We conducted a survey with 213 university students, aged 18 to 35 years old, from these three countries, through an online questionnaire with open-ended questions about important events and people in the region's history. Despite the reference to different historical events and the existence of national specificities, several common topics were noteworthy across the three samples. There was a centrality of events involving political issues, conflicts and revolutions, as well as a recency effect and a sociocentric bias, replicating previous research about social representations of world history in different countries. There was also a strong prominence of colonization and independence issues in all samples. Through an emphasis on a common narrative of struggle and overcoming difficulties, the participants’ social representations of Latin American history may favour mobilization and resistance, challenging the stability and legitimacy of the existing social order. Furthermore, the findings are discussed in terms of their potential connections with present-day intergroup relations within Latin America, and between Latin America and other parts of the world.

Epidemiology of Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer in Europe.

To design the services for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, we need to understand the patterns of disease and the other clinical and managerial challenges of the patient group. Cancer occurring between the ages of 15 and 39 years is 4 times less rare than cancer occurring during the first 15 years of life and consists of 2% of all invasive cancer in Europe, about 66,000 patients in Europe each year. AYAs have a unique distribution of cancer types, including the peak in incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) or germ cell tumors. The relative improvement in the survival rate in AYAs has not kept pace with that achieved in younger children, especially for acute leukemia, non-HLs, Ewing tumors and rhabdomyosarcoma. Etiological factors are under-researched and remain largely hypothetical. In this unique group of illnesses, improving AYA cancer management involves bridging interfaces. Since this has begun, outcomes have also begun to improve. The local nature of these interfaces determines the age group considered as AYA. Specific skills are necessary in the clinical, biological and psychosocial domains. Services need support from policy, clinical and administrative professionals. National policy and supranational groups such as SIOPE and ESMO are in constructive collaboration to develop this further.

Roundtable Discussion on Extremism , Terrorism and Islam toward a Better Understanding of Issues ( IAIS Malaysia , 22 January 2015 )

Extremism and violence are universal phenomena that existed throughout human history. However human beings, both in the West and the East, are becoming more radical and much brutal in our days. Extremist acts are today committed as much by transnational and supranational groups as by official and legitimate governments, both in the West and in the Muslim world. As history reveals, balance and moderation have been clearly imprinted on the character of classical Islamic civilisation. For many centuries, Islam exposed itself as a religion of moderation, committed to establishing a system of truth and justice that shuns laxity on one side and extremism on the other. Yet, violence and radicalism are spreading like a cancer in the failed states of the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region and South Asian countries. The Arab Spring where people sought genuine democracy and good governance has morphed into a hotbed of extremism across swathes of the Middle East and North Africa. The safety and well-being of the entire Muslim world is today jeopardised by the creation of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – ISIS. This extremist militant group is responsible for many brutalities and transgressions, primarily hostile to the core principles of Islam and humanity.

IDENTIDADES, ACTITUDES Y ESTEREOTIPOS NACIONALES Y SUPRANACIONALES EN UNA MUESTRA URUGUAYA

El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar las identificaciones con los ámbitos regionales, nacional y supranacionales; las actitudes y los estereotipos respecto a grupos nacionales y supranacionales en una muestra uruguaya. Se comprueba la capacidad explicativa sobre identificaciones, simpatías y estereotipos de: favoritismo endogrupal, contacto y familiaridad, similitud, prototipicidad y asimetría actitudinal. Se discuten los resultados así como el instrumento utilizado.

EURATOM: A Study in Coalition Politics

The two industrial nuclear-power blocs in Western Europe, EURATOM (European Atomic Community—the Common Market) and ENEA (European Nuclear Energy Agency, organized under the auspices of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation), represent a significant political cleavage in Europe. Both supranational groups are consortiums for the generation of industrial nuclear power, including fuel production, reprocessing, and isotope separation. EURATOM represents the Continental Six under French-West German leadership; ENEA, a more loosely organized bloc under British sponsorship.

Identification and the postwar world.

War can be overcome only when individuals identify themselves with supra-national groups more strongly than with mutually exclusive, competing national groups. Identification with a world federation will be enhanced if all people possess (1) common features (a world language and basic common education in world problems); (2) common rituals and symbols (flag, world anthem, common currency and postage); (3) common goals (better distribution of goods, avoidance of war and famine); (4) symbols of home, family, and local groups in the world government; (5) common enemies (disturbers of the peace) and an efficient police force combining the romantic appeal of the Northwest Mounted and the Red Cross. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)