Social and political consequences of spatial inequalities
In the European Union, there are significant and in many cases growing socio-economic inequalities between regions. Increasingly, arguments are emerging that understand regional inequalities as a risk to social cohesion, a cause of social and political polarities and a source of perceived injustice and marginalisation. One of the consequences is the support for populist and anti-system political parties. According to the well-known thesis by Rodríguez-Pose, support for populist politics can be interpreted as revenge on the inhabitants of these “left-behind places”. 'Geography of discontent' has been posited to describe lagging and stagnant regions characterised by support for populism. So far, the concept of the left-behind places has been based mainly on the situation in Western Europe and the United States. The aim of this project is to explore the social and political consequences of spatial inequalities in three Central European countries - the Czech Republic, Poland and the eastern regions of Germany. Socio-economic inequalities between regions are of a particular nature here. Their emergence and manifestations are related to post-socialist transformation, depopulation, and low-wage work.
The project contributes in several ways to research on the social and political consequences of interregional socioeconomic inequalities: (1) It examines how inequalities between regions contribute to inequalities between individuals, how they are reflected in subjective perceptions of injustice, and how they manifest themselves in political opinions and voting behaviour. (2) International comparisons allow us to provide a more nuanced analysis. (3) We focus on three Central European countries where regional inequalities have increased in recent years and where populism plays an important role. (4) Methodologically, we take a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach to both identify the measurable impacts of spatial inequalities and to understand the perceptions and perspectives of people living in 'left-behind places'.
Given the multidisciplinary nature of the problem, our team consists of geographers, sociologists and ethnographers from all three countries under study.
Project duration: 2023 - 2025
The project is funded by the GA ČR, DFG and NSN as part of the pan-European Weave initiative.