Quantitative skills are important for studying and understanding social reality. Political science students, however, experience difficulties in acquiring and retaining such skills. Fear of statistics has often been listed among the major causes for this problem. This study aims at understanding the underlying factors for this anxiety and proposes a potential remedy. More specifically, we advocate the integration of quantitative material into non‐methodological courses. After assessing the influence of dispositional, course‐related and person‐related factors on the attitudes towards statistics among political science students, we provide insights into the relation between these attitudes on the one hand and the learning and retention of statistics skills on the other. Our results indicate that a curriculum‐wide approach to normalise the use of quantitative methods can not only foster interest in statistics but also foster retention of the acquired skills.

Differentiated threat and the genesis of prejudice. Group-specific antecedents of homonegativity, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-immigrant attitudes

The EU identifies and presents itself as an organisation founded on 'fundamental values' and as a defender and guardian of fundamental rights. The development of this 'fundamental rights myth' 1 (Smismans, 2010) has taken place against a broader background of the globalization of human rights discourse (Smismans, 2010; Stychin, 2004). The discourse of fundamental values has also increasingly become the driving narrative of the EU's foreign policy, including the Enlargement and Neighbourhood policies. Article 3(5) clarifies that 'In its relations with the wider world, the [European] Union shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to […] the protection of human rights.' Article 49 makes respect for the so-called founding values-'respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights' (Art. 2 TEU)-a precondition for EU membership. In recent years, LGBT rights have become part and parcel of this fundamental rights myth (Ayoub and Paternotte 2014a, p.3): being 'gay-friendly' has now become a symbol for

The European Union sees itself as a beacon of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friendliness and seeks to promote these norms in its external relations. However, such identity claims and norm promotion are inherently political and should be critically examined as such. Taking a relational approach, this article conceptualises and examines the Othering processes within the European Union enlargement to highlight the political nature of what is often described as a technocratic process. Through exploring the triangulation of the European Union enlargement, Othering processes and crises, it is argued that (1) the use of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights as a measure of Europeanness is based on a longer tradition of defining the European Union’s symbolic boundaries, but that (2) it is in perceived moments of crisis that the European Union redraws and strengthens the boundaries between the Self and the different types of Others through changing combinations of Othering mechanisms. Finally, the article also argues that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights promotion is not only a tool in constructing the European Union’s identity but also a source of an identity crisis, as is shown by the rise of anti-gender politics.

How are masculinity and nationalism intertwined? This question has received scant theoretical attention, and existing theories tend to focus on their shared ideals and are embedded in a heteronormative, homophobic, and patriarchal framework. Such views imply a static relationship between the two phenomena and are incompatible with the recent phenomenon of homonationalism and the incorporation of some homosexual bodies within the nation. Addressing this theoretical gap, this article develops a more holistic framework of the relationship between nationalism and masculinity. Drawing on relational sociology, it conceptualises nationalism as competing masculinities. It argues that the link between masculinities and nationalism is not found in their overlapping substantive ideals, but rather that the two phenomena are co-constructed through their overlapping Othering processes. The proposed theoretical framework does not only provide a more dynamic understanding of the link between masculinity and nationalism, but it also helps to overcome the apparent duality between homonationalism and heteronationalism. It is shown that both phenomena are in fact two sides of the same coin, with the main difference between them being the location of homophobia as a technology of Othering within different types of Self/Other relations. Overall, the article provides an analytical tool that allows for the contextualisation and understanding of seemingly contradictory features of nationalism and its relationship to masculinity.

The transformation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights into a 'standard for civilisation' has not been without consequences. With LGBT Pride parades becoming a symbol for Europeanness in the European Union (EU) accession process, this article asks how the litmus test character of Belgrade Pride has transformed LGBT politics in Serbia. Empirically, the analysis provides an in-depth analysis of how Serbia's EU accession process has shaped the politics of Belgrade Pride between 2001 and 2015 and vice versa. It is argued that the international symbolic usage of Pride is no innocent practice as it has foreclosed its local politicality. Indeed, whilst Belgrade Pride became politicised as a litmus test in the EU accession process, domestically it developed into an apolitical ritualised event devoid of LGBT politics.

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