Urban-Rural Divides in Comparative Perspective

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

In many advanced democracies, a citizen’s urban or rural place of residence has become an increasingly important predictor of their partisanship, policy preferences, and vote choices. These urban-rural divides are linked in complex ways to long-term patterns of economic development (Rodden 2019), local institutional structures (Ogorzalek 2018, Fitzgerald 2018), urbanization (Armstrong, Lucas, and Taylor 2021), and place identity (Borwein and Lucas 2022, Munis 2022, Trujillo and Crowley 2022, Huijsmans 2022). This panel provides a valuable comparative perspective on the urban-rural divide, with a particular (but not exclusive) focus on Canada and the United States. The papers not only help to clarify the institutional and psychological underpinnings of urban-rural polarization, but also explore the size and character of urban-rural divides in contemporary public policy debates, collectivist attitudes, and attitudes toward national governments.

Sub Unit

• Division 30: Urban Politics

Individual Presentations

• Rugged Individualists? Rural Identity, Collectivism, and Government Attitudes - Kristin Kay Lunz Trujillo, Boston College; Alee Lockman, Texas A&M School of Public Health; Timothy Herbert Callaghan, Boston University; Alva Ferdinand, Texas A&M University School of Public Health

• Urban-Rural Policy Disagreement in Canada, 2000-2023 - Zack Taylor, University of Western Ontario; Sophie Borwein, University of British Columbia; Jack Lucas, University of Calgary; Tyler Matthew Romualdi, University of Western Ontario (Western University); Katharine McCoy, The University of Western Ontario; David Armstrong, University of Western Ontario

• Party Systems and Urban-Rural Polarization - Twan Huijsmans, University of Amsterdam; Jonathan Rodden, Stanford University

• Performative and Affective Elements of Geographic Polarization - Kal Munis, Auburn University; Zoe Nemerever, Auburn University

Chair

• Suzanne Mettler Cornell University

Discussant

• Suzanne Mettler Cornell University