2020 Annual Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology

We are glad to announce that our symposium "Fighting antigypsyism in hostile political contexts: Understanding the roots of hate in five European countries and identifying effective prejudice reduction interventions" got accepted to ISPP Annual Meeting in Berlin!

The European Commission acknowledged antigypsyism as a specific, multi-faceted form of racism and one of the root causes of the social exclusion and inequality affecting the Roma, Sinti and Travellers. Recent studies suggest that antigypsyism draws on dominant and socially approved norms frequently conveyed in political discourse, legitimizing hate speech, stigmatization and blatant discrimination. The goal of the studies presented in the panel is to: (1) explore current political discourses about the Roma; (2) analyze how different political discourses impact current intergroup relations (prejudice, discrimination, pro-Roma collective action); (3) identify possible areas and tools of interventions to effectively counter antigypsyism. The papers presented in the symposium show that (1) political discourse in France is marked by the absence of Roma voices, and by spatial and temporal compartmentalization, strategies known to legitimate different forms of violence (Andreea Gruev-Vintila et al.); (2) attitudes towards the Roma by the non-Roma majority population in five European countries are structured around moral exclusion (Hadi Sam Nariman et al.); (3) threat to national identity and perceived normative climate are strong predictors of antigypsyism in Slovakia, but prosocial emotions such as sympathy and empathy motivate pro-Roma collective action (Xenia-Daniela Poslon et al.), and (4) currently implemented prejudice-reduction interventions do not necessarily incorporate psychological principles when carried out at national levels or in local settings. These interventions often focus on interpersonal level effects, which are difficult to upscale to the larger communities (Anca Minescu et al).

Our panel chairs will be Anna Kende (ELTE) and Barbara Lášticová (UVSK) and we are delighted to have Linda Tropp from University of Massachusetts as panel discussant. See you in Berlin!