The Issue of Identity:
Visions of European Integration in V4 and Nordic Countries
September 29–30, 2025
Venue: University of Pécs, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ifjúság St. 6, Pécs, Hungary
Join the meeting in-person or online
The conference brings historians, political scientists, IR scholars, and social psychologists together to examine how identity influences support for European integration in Central Europe and Nordic Countries. Over two days, sessions explore historical perspectives on identity and integration, the balance between EU-level cooperation and national decision-making, and regional dynamics in a changing world order. Furthermore, social-psychological mechanisms such as memory, emotions, and victimhood beliefs are also discussed regarding how the past influences contemporary Euroscepticism and East–West orientations.
Programme:
(to open the .pdf format click here)
- Monday 29
8:30-8:45 Opening and Welcome Address by Krisztián Bene, Dean and Orsolya Vincze, Project Lead
8:45-9:10:05 Historical Perspectives on Sovereignty, Federalism, and Cultural Transfers: Central and Nordic Experiences (Chair: Peter Stadius)
8:45 Bernd Christoph Ströhm: Nation, Empire, and Identity: Central Europe’s Struggle for Sovereignty and Unity
9:05 Peter Stadius: Nordic exceptionalism and European integration
9:25 Jana Lainto: Scandinavian Horizons: Arnošt Vilém Kraus and Czech-Scandinavian Cultural Transfers at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
9:45 János Perényi: National and European identity in the speeches of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán10:05 - 10:20 coffee break
10:20 - 11:40 Identity and Regional Cooperation in a Changing World Order (Chair: István Tarrósy)
10:20 István Tarrósy: Questions of Identity and Emotion in Contemporary International Politics and the Changing World Order
10:40 Zoltán Vörös: Dependencies and Nationalisms in an Orderless World Order – The V4 and the EU in the 21st Century
11:00 Andrea Schmidt: Long live Visegrad? Reshaped Integration Models in Central and Eastern Europe in the Crossroads of Changing Political Environments
11:20 Arthur Marcin Lorek: Central Europe Reimagined: Identity Alignment and Norm Localisation in 3SI11:40 - 13:00 lunch
13:00 - 14:20 Europe’s Future between Sovereignty, Federalism, and Regionalism (Chair: Gabriel Székely)
13:00 Gabriel Székely: Federalism vs. sovereignty in Europe from the perspective of political scientists
13:20 Maradyk Nataliya: Sovereignty, Federalism, and Regional Identity in a Changing Europe
13:40 Zoltán Gál: Is the V4 the growth engine of Europe? Geopolitical & geoeconomic challenges in Central & Eastern Europe
14:00 Csilla Dömök: Europe today- on the road to integration from nationalism to regionalism14:20 - 14:35 coffee break
14:35 - 16:00 Discussion of Next Steps in the Visegrad Project: Systematic Review and Educational Materials
18:30 dinner
- Tuesday 30
8:30 - 10:55 Framing the Past, Choosing the Future: At the Crossroads of National Identity and European Integration (Chair: Adrian Woijcik)
8:30 Michał Główczewski: Social representations of history, historical narratives, and collective nostalgia as antecedents of Eurosceptic attitudes among European citizens
8:50 Paszkál Kiss: Forged by Conflicts: Collective Emotions, Moral Dilemmas, and European/national Identity
9:10 Zsolt P. Szabó: Why Groups Respond Differently to Victimhood: Toward a Pattern-Based Approach to Collective Victimization Beliefs
9:30 Adrian Woijcik: Trans-Europe Express: Psychological roots of the link between National Identification and European integration
9:50 Orsolya Vincze, Jovan Ivanovic, Milos Jevtic, Zsolt P. Szabó, István Csertő, Sarah Y. Choi: From Freedom-Frame of History to Geopolitical Orientation: Identity-Contingent Paths via EU Attitude.10:10 - 10:25 coffee break
10:25 Doctoral Works-in-Progress (Chair: Orsolya Vincze)
10:25 Sára Papp: Patterns of Collective Victimhood Beliefs and their effect on European and V4 integration
10:45 Barbara Tóth and Subas Amjad: System Justification and Collective Victimhood in Perceiving Threats from the War in Ukraine vs. EU Sanctions, and Links to EU-Scepticism.
11:05 Nikolett Kormos and Sara Bigazzi: Alternative self-concepts in the context of changing intergroup relations in Victor Orban's speeches
11:25 Marcell Fehérvári: Reevaluating European Identity: A Systematic Literature Review of Measurement Approaches.11:45 - 12:00 Closing section
Selected lectures from the conference have been recorded and are available in the following playlist:
