Jesse Grainger

Jesse joined the department of European & International Studies as a PhD candidate in September 2023, interested in the intersection of sexuality and immigration, and how both public opinion and party appeals compare across European Union member-states in the construction of homonationalism.

He is a recipient of the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS-DTP) studentship in Politics, Public Policy & Governance, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). He holds a BA in Political Studies from Queen Mary, University of London (2019 – 2022) and an MA in Human Rights Research (Law and Political Science) from the University of Manchester (2022-2023).

Entering education later in life, Jesse spent most of his early years working in business management for large international companies before developing an interest on politics and deciding to enter education. Whilst completing his studies, Jesse has held several positions, such as parliamentary researcher for the UK Parliament, data analyst for the Icelandic Constitutional Archives, and programme supervisor for the Interfaith & Community Relations Forum. 

Research interests

• Queer Studies
• Sexuality Politics
• Nationalism
• Populist Radical Right
• European Union
• Masculinity Studies
• Mixed-Methods
• Comparative Politics

PhD research

The Populist Radical Right (PRR) is often associated with political positions discriminative against minority groups – most often targeting groups such as the queer community and immigrant groups. The advancement of PRR parties has come at the challenge to liberal democratic values across both Europe, and the wider world. However, the new millennium has seen a divergent uprising in the PRR which adopt a progressive position to queer rights, whilst still retaining the traditionalist oppositional stance towards immigrants, immigration, and ethnic minorities (IIEM).

My research aims to investigate this phenomenon (commonly referred to as homonationalism) by comparatively investigating party appeals put forward by European PRR parties in order to analyse the process and degree to which this homonationalist position has developed. My research also aims to investigate the possibility of homonationalist attitudes being present within the electorate, and whether this could cause a barrier (or provide incentive) to the PRR in adopting these positions.

I aim to make use of a three phase, mixed-methods research design. Incorporating a quantitative longitudinal analysis of European social attitudes, with a qualitative content analysis of party manifestos – supplemented with semi-structured interviews with politicians and social movement leaders in select case study countries.

PhD supervisors

Dr Isabelle Hertner and Dr Russell Foster