Abstract
This chapter explores the emotions and ideologies of Czech political elites during the migration crisis, focusing on their perception of the migration quotas. Emotions, such as fear, anger, and trust, are linked to Czech political elites’ perception of the migration crisis. Emotions are essential in international relations as they help uncover states’ decision-making processes. The chapter examines the connection between the Czech perception of the migration crisis and the ideologies and roles of the Czech Republic. The most common ideologies among the Czech elites at the time were Sovereignism and Europeanism, while their most frequent role was Regional Collaborator, which was characterised by trust and a sense of belonging within the given group. Trust, fear, and anger were present among the elites, with trust being associated with cooperation with the Visegrad Four, fear with protecting Czech sovereignty, and anger with feelings of unreadiness and poor communication with the EU. The chapter offers a unique perspective on the events of the migration crisis, highlighting the role of emotions in shaping the Czech decision to reject the migration quotas.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alshoubaki, W., & Harris, M. (2019). Governmental response to migration and the nexus with citizens’ attitudes: An empirical analysis of the origin of European migration policies. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, 14(4), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.18848/2324-755X/CGP/v14i04/1-11
Ariffin, Y. (2016). Assessing the role of emotions in international relations. In Y. Ariffin, J.-M. Coicaud, & V. Popovski (Eds.), Emotions in international politics: Beyond mainstream international relations (pp. 207–221). Cambridge University Press.
Bourbeau, P. (2015). Migration, resilience and security: Responses to new inflows of asylum seekers and migrants. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 41(12), 1958–1977. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2015.1047331
Brosius, A., van Elsas, E. J., & de Vreese, C. H. (2019). How media shape political trust: News coverage of immigration and its effects on trust in the European Union. European Union Politics, 20(3), 447–467. https://doi.org/10.1177/14651165198417
Edinger, H. (2021, March 17). Fear in International Relations. E - International Relations. https://www.eir.info/2020/11/01/fear-in-international-relations/
Ekman, P., & Cordaro, D. (2011). What is meant by calling emotions basic. Emotion Review, 3, 364–370.
Erisen, C., & Vasilopoulou, S. (2022). The affective model of far-right vote in Europe: Anger, political trust, and immigration. Social Science Quarterly, 103(4), 635–648. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13153
Erisen, C., Vasilopoulou, S., & Kentmen-Cin, C. (2020). Emotional reactions to immigration and support for EU cooperation on immigration and terrorism. Journal of European Public Policy, 27(6), 795–813. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2019.1630470
Ferebauer, V., Gabzdyl, J., Pšeničková, J., & Horáková, V. (2015, October 28). Po ČR se demonstrovalo proti migraci, názorové tábory dělili těžkooděnci. iDNES. https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/po-cesku-demonstruji-odpurci-migrantu.A151028_144245_domaci_fer
Hall, T. H. (2015). Emotional diplomacy: Official emotion on the international stage (1st ed.). Cornell University Press.
Haukkala, H., Vuorelma, J., & van de Wetering, C. (2015). Trust in international relations–A useful tool? Journal of Trust Research, 5(1), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2015.1008009
Heins, V. M. (2021). The plasticity of our fears: Affective politics in the European migration crisis. Society, 58(6), 500–506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-021-00643-2
Hoffman, A. M. (2002). A conceptualization of trust in international relations. European Journal of International Relations, 8(3), 375–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066102008003003
Huber, B., Barnidge, M., Gil de Zúñiga, H., & Liu, J. (2019). Fostering public trust in science: The role of social media. Public Understanding of Science, 28(7), 759–777. https://doi.org/10.1177/096366251986909
Izard, C. E. (2007). Basic emotions, natural kinds, emotion schemas, and a new paradigm. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2, 260–280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00044
Jack, R. E., Garrod, O. G. B., & Schyns, P. G. (2014). Dynamic facial expressions of emotion transmit an evolving hierarchy of signals over time. Current Biology, 24(2), 187–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.064
Kende, A., Lantos, N. A., Belinszky, A., Csaba, S., & Lukács, Z. A. (2017). The politicized motivations of volunteers in the refugee crisis: Intergroup helping as the means to achieve social change. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 5(1), 260–281. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v5i1.642
Khan, M., & Haskologlu, I. (2020, September 2). Fear as a driver of international relations. E–International Relations. https://www.e-ir.info/2020/09/02/fear-as-driver-of-international-relations/.
Koschut, S. (2017). The power of (emotion) words: On the importance of emotions for social constructivist discourse analysis in IR. Journal of International Relations and Diplomacy, 21(2), 495–522. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-017-0086-0
Kyriakides, C. (2017). Words don’t come easy: Al Jazeera’s migrant–refugee distinction and the European culture of (mis)trust. Current Sociology, 65(7), 933–952. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392116658089
Lee, Y., & Schachter, H. L. (2019). Exploring the relationship between trust in government and citizen participation. International Journal of Public Administration, 42(5), 405–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2018.1465956
Levenson, R. W. (2011). Basic emotion questions. Emotion Review, 3, 379–386. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073911410743
Linklater, A. (2014). Anger and world politics: How collective emotions shift over time. International Theory, 6(3), 574–578. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752971914000293
Mercer, J. (2006). Human nature and the first image: Emotion in international politics. Journal of International Relations and Development, 9, 288–303. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jird.1800091
Miklikowska, M. (2018). Empathy trumps prejudice: The longitudinal relation between empathy and anti-immigrant attitudes in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 54(4), 703–717. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000474
Mondal, A., & Gokhale, S. S. (2020). Mining emotions on Plutchik’s Wheel. In 2020 Seventh International Conference on Social Networks Analysis, Management and Security (SNAMS),1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/SNAMS52053.2020.9336534.
Monforte, P., & Maestri, G. (2022). From vulnerability to trust. Migration and Society, 5(1), 59–74. https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/migration-and-society/5/1/arms050106.xml
Panksepp, J., & Watt, D. (2011). What is basic about basic emotions? Lasting lessons from affective neuroscience. Emotion Review, 3(4), 387–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073911410741
Pashakhanlou, A. H. (2016). Realism and fear in international relations. In Realism and Fear in International Relations. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41012-8_1
Petice.com. (2015). Nejoblíbenější petice v roce 2015–Česká republika. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://www.petice.com/browse.php?order_by=stats_signatures_2015&page_number=1
Plutchik, R. (2001). The nature of emotions: Human emotions have deep evolutionary roots, a fact that may explain their complexity and provide tools for clinical practice. American Scientist, 89(4), 344–350. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27857503
Portice, J., & Reicher, S. (2018). Arguments for European disintegration: A mobilization analysis of anti-immigration speeches by UK political leaders. Political Psychology, 39(6), 1357–1372. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12551
Pospěch, P., Jurečková, A., Hacek, J., Chalupková, P., Ivanič, P., Kaal, E., Renser, B., & Tokošová, E. (2019). Exposed: Media coverage of migration in Czech Republic, Estonia, and Slovakia. Člověk v tísni.
Pettrachin, A. (2020). The unexpected dynamics of politicization of migration: The case of the refugee crisis in Sicily. Mediterranean Politics, 27(1), 29–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2020.1741294
Roblain, A., & Green, E. G. T. (2021). From perceived polarization of immigration attitudes to collective action. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 80, 112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.11.009
Sasley, B. E. (2011). Theorizing states’ emotions. International Studies Review, 13(3), 452–476. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23016718
Sell, A., Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (2009). Formidability and the logic of human anger. PNAS, 106(35), 15073–15078. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0904312106
Tang, S. (2008). Fear in international politics: Two positions. International Studies Review, 10(3), 451–471. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25481988
Van Rythoven, E. (2018). Fear in the crowd or fear of the crowd? The dystopian politics of fear in international relations. Critical Studies on Security, 6(1), 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/21624887.2017.1377527
Tracy, J. L., & Randles, D. (2011). Four models of basic emotions: A review of Ekman and Cordaro, Izard, Levenson, and Panksepp and Watt. Emotion Review, 3(4), 397–405. https://doi.org/10.1177/175407391141074
Volkan, V. D. (2017). Psychoanalytic thoughts on the European refugee crisis and the other. Psychoanalytic Review, 104(6), 661–685. https://doi.org/10.1521/prev.2017.104.6.661
Ethical Approval
Informed consent for participation and publication was obtained from individual participants in the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hrubá, L. (2024). Emotions. In: Drulák, P. (eds) Roles and Ideologies in the Czech Foreign Policy: the Case of European Migration Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49975-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49975-3_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-49974-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-49975-3
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)