Dr Emina Subasic

I arrived to Australia as a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997. In 1998, I commenced a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) and Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Queensland, both of which I completed in 2002. In 2003, I moved to Canberra and completed a First Class Honours in Psychology at the Australian National University. I stayed at the ANU for the next 10 years, completing a PhD (2004-2008) and two post-doctoral fellowships (2006-2009) with Kate Reynolds and John Turner. In 2010, I became an ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellow (and lead investigator) on a Discovery Project examining the nexus of leadership and change in social relations. I was appointed as Lecturer at the University of Newcastle in late 2013 and commenced in July 2014.

My research spans social, organizational and political psychology. It examines how people, groups and societies change. In this work, I argue that the psychological transformation of the self is at the core of change—that by changing identities we can change society. A central contribution of my most recent work has been to articulate how social influence and leadership intersect with self-categorization processes to make such change imaginable and (therefore) possible. I examine these ideas across a range of contexts, but particularly where mobilisation of political solidarity across traditional intergroup boundaries is called for.  

Research Expertise
My research focuses on the intersection of social identity, social influence and change in social relations, including:

• Leadership and collective mobilization
  
• Leadership and organisational change
• Political solidarity as a social change process
• Mobilising men and women for gender equality 
• School identification, school functioning and student learning
• Enhancing social harmony in diverse communities

Collaborations

My work examines the intersection of leadership and change in social relations within communities, organisations, and schools. Below are some examples of research projects across these domains:

1) I lead an Australian Research Council Discovery Project examining the intersection of leadership, social identity and the dynamics of social stability and change in intergroup relations. Co-investigators on this project are Kate Reynolds (Australian National University), Alex Haslam (University of Queensland), Steve Reicher (University of St Andrews, UK) and Paul 't Hart (Utrecht University, The Netherlands).

2) I am lead investigator on a collaborative project with Nyla Branscombe (University of Kansas), Michelle Ryan (University of Exeter) and Kate Reynolds (Australian National University) that builds on insights from political solidarity, leadership and social change work to examine how both men and women can be mobilised for gender equality - in the workplace and in society more broadly.

3) Ongoing research, led by Kate Reynolds (ANU) and funded by the Australian Capital Territory Directorate of Education and Training (and extending a 2008-2011 ARC Linkage Project) helps improve school climate, school identification and outcomes such as student and staff wellbeing and student learning across 80 public high schools in Canberra, Australia. 

4) A new line of work with Miles Hewstone, Stefania Paolini, and Mark Rubin, examines when and why diverse social contexts (communities, but also organisations) are transformed from social conflict to social cohesion - and vice versa.