Why do territorial differences become politically divisive in some contexts but remain weak or crosscutting in others? This workshop examines the formation, activation and consequences of territorial political divides, connecting economic restructuring and demographic change with place identities, social relationships, institutional arrangements and political mobilisation. It considers urban–rural differences alongside inequalities within cities and between regions, asking how these geographies overlap and how public services, administrative capacity, decentralisation and place-based policies can create, reinforce or reduce these divides. Bringing together comparative politics, political geography and public policy, the workshop will distinguish electoral polarisation from differences in preferences, trust and participation.
Research on the geography of discontent links uneven development to political resentment (Rodríguez-Pose, 2018), while recent work examines the historical emergence of territorial polarisation (Brown and Mettler, 2024), social networks (McKay et al., 2024) and affective urban–rural divisions (Hegewald and Schraff, 2026). Yet territorial differences in policy priorities can be modest (Yildirim and Solvig, 2026), and perceived divisions may exceed actual disagreement (Lutz and Does, 2026).
This exposes a central problem: electoral divergence, resentment, policy preferences and institutional distrust should not be treated as interchangeable expressions of a single territorial cleavage. Comparative research identifies selective policy differences and uneven relationships between service accessibility and trust (Camões, 2026; Teles and Camões, 2026).
Governance matters: service closures can deepen territorial disadvantage (Fregoni and Leonardi, 2025), while electoral institutions can shape external political efficacy (García del Horno et al., 2024), highlighting how governments may both reinforce and mitigate territorial divides.
Political science needs a workshop organised around questions concerning how economic change, social composition and place identity interact; how parties, media and civic organisations convert differences into antagonism; and why similar conditions produce mobilisation, disengagement or accommodation.
Papers will be discussed across three linked strands - causes, consequences and public governance - so that explanations, outcomes and responses are considered together. Paired discussions and collective synthesis will identify rival explanations, comparable measures and priorities for collaborative research. The workshop will welcome researchers at all career stages and from different regions and methodological traditions, and is designed for active participant engagement and interaction.
1: When do territorial differences become enduring political cleavages?
2: Why do voting, policy preferences and political trust follow different territorial patterns?
3: How do parties, media and civic organisations activate or moderate territorial antagonisms?
4: Which research designs distinguish contextual place effects from residential selection?
5: What's the role of public-service provision, administrative capacity, and multilevel governance?
1: Comparative studies of urban–rural, regional and metropolitan political divides
2: Research on economic restructuring, demographic change and the political consequences of place
3: Analyses of party strategies, media narratives, representation and territorial mobilisation
4: Research on public services, governance and institutional mediation of territorial inequalities
5: Studies of voting, policy preferences, trust, protest and disengagement across territorial settings
6: Historical and longitudinal studies of changing divides and inequalities within places
7: Conceptual and methodological work on spatial categories, place effects and residential selection
8: Evaluations of place-based policies and institutional reforms intended to bridge territorial divides
