Student profiles
Ioana Alexandra Niculae
Email: ioana.alexandra.niculae@liverpool.ac.uk
Thesis Title
Institution
Supervisors
Professor Roland Clark: Primary Supervisor (University of Liverpool)
Professor Aristotle Kallis: Secondary Supervisors (Keele University)
Dr Christine Schmidt (The Wiener Holocaust Library)
Research Summary
My project examines how fascists in Romania used photography to challenge dominant depictions of them as hooligans and terrorists, creating a distinctly fascist “brand.” It focuses on three groups – the National Christian Defence League, the Legion of the Archangel Michael, and the National Christian Party – between 1922 and 1941. Drawing on postcards, posters, photo albums, party newspapers, and photographs from secret police files, it explores how these groups curated their image, how the visual language of fascism differed between them, and how it evolved over time.
The research combines visual and linguistic analysis to show how textual and visual elements formed a potent fascist discourse that shaped public perception. Finally, it situates these findings within a broader historical framework, linking interwar fascist imagery to the current revival of far-right narratives in Romania, exemplified by the rise of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR).
Research Interests
Fascism and visual culture; propaganda; political religion; interwar Romania; nationalism; aesthetics of politics; ideology; populism.
Publications
Niculae, I-A. 2025. Nation in the Name of Faith: The Use of Orthodox Christianity in ShapingRomanian
Identity. MA thesis, Department of Political Science, Central European University,Vienna.