Regional hierarchies of discontent: an accessibility approach

Abstract

We argue that so-called geographies of discontent work within regional hierarchies in a spatial continuum, whereas the previous literature has mainly invoked dichotomous divides, such as core-periphery or the North-South. A place’s relation to surrounding communities and regions remains an understudied topic. We analyse the municipal distribution of electoral support for Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna, SD) in the 2014 and 2018 Swedish national general elections. We show that higher accessibility to other large municipalities within the same region, as well as being surrounded by relatively larger neighbouring regions, is associated with further support for SD. The within-region associations are only reliably identified among the urban group.

Geographies of discontent in the Nordic Region? A Conceptual overview

“…Recent literature has found some evidence that migrants, especially when they arrive in large numbers, can serve as a catalyst to channel disappointment and fears of economic insecurity (Dijkstra et al 2020). The timing of such immigration and the origin, skill level and number of migrants appear to be critical in terms of fuelling concerns that newcomers might take away jobs and/or diminish wages (Larsson et al 2021;Guiso et al 2017). From a social perspective, immigration can raise fears among native-born citizens that access to and quality of welfare will diminish due to the inancial strain migrants might place on the system (Edo et al 2019).…”

“…Globalisation and the "urbanised knowledge economy" have created new spatial imbalances and inequalities in economic development, opportunities and living standards, in part because the knowledge economy is much more strongly dependent on a geographic clustering of knowledge and skills and high-density levels than traditional jobs in the industrial sector (Rodríguez-Pose 2018, Florida 2021, Marlar 2022. In many cases, peripheral areas with long distances to urban areas, as well as old industrial hubs facing global competition, have been "left behind" economically, with many experiencing growing levels of unemployment, poverty and economic decline (Larsson et al 2021, De Lange et al 2023, Koeppen et al 2021. Mascherini and colleagues (2023) have found that the rural-urban gap in the EU has widened particularly in terms of income employment and opportunities.…”