The project is dedicated to exploring constructions of belonging, with a specific focus on investigating national identity. The research project aims to undertake a critical social-psychological examination of diverse methods of establishing a sense of belonging to the German nation and its interplay with alternative social identities. Given the backdrop of the rise of right-wing populist movements and implicit nationalism tendencies, our emphasis is on examining various narratives of Germanness and the inherent ambivalences within the contemporary relationship between the individual and the nation.
This project is structured as a long-term mixed-methods study, with a primary emphasis on qualitative interviews.
Surveys, conducted in the form of interviews and accompanying questionnaires, have been ongoing since 2008, coinciding with football World Cups and European Championships. The initial phase of the study took place in 2008 at the University of Bremen under the direction of Prof. Thomas Kühn and Prof. Gavin Sullivan. Subsequent surveys were carried out in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021. Another survey is planned for 2022.
Each sub-study, designed as a mini-longitudinal section, consists of three survey points in time: shortly before, during, and after the corresponding international football tournament. This structure allows for a comprehensive understanding of the impact of various emotional atmospheres on the construction and interpretation of national identity.
Theoretical connections of this project extend to research areas such as social inequality, biography and life course, emotion, social identity theory, and analytical social psychology. From the latter perspective, the current research period, focuses on examining ambivalent constructions of belonging and the significance of the social character approach.
Original Language: German