Measuring rural and urban consciousness in Europe
Claassen, Christopher (University of Glasgow)
Göbel, Sascha (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Lang, Antonia (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Ackermann, Kathrin (University of Siegen)
Bankov, Petar (University of Glasgow)
Brookes, Kevin (University Grenoble-Alpes)
Cappellina, Bartolomeo (University of Bordeaux)
Carman, Christopher (University of Glasgow)
Freitag, Markus (University of Bern)
García Del Horno, Rubén (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Hernández, Enrique (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Rico, Guillem (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Rossteutscher, Sigrid (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Traunmüller, Richard (University of Mannheim (UMA))
Webb, Michael (University Grenoble-Alpes)
Zmerli, Sonja (University Grenoble-Alpes)
Zumbrunn, Alina (University of Bern)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	A rural consciousness, encompassing a rural identity and resentments directed at urban areas and the political elite, has emerged as a key explanation for the growing rural-urban political divides affecting many Western democracies. However, existing research has largely focused on the case of the United States; there is also no consensus as to the structure or dimensionality of rural (and urban) consciousness. In response, this paper develops and tests a battery of 16 items for measuring consciousness in five Western European countries: Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland. We show that both rural and urban consciousness are best understood as comprising a dimension of identity and three dimensions of resentment pertaining to power, resources, and culture, in line with Cramer's original conceptualization. We furthermore find that rural consciousness in Western Europe is generally associated with indicators of "left behind" status such as low income and lack of a university education and is also associated with identification with the political right. This shows how rural-urban identities and resentments can help illuminate the changing political landscape of Western Europe.
Grants:	European Commission 822166
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Europe ; Identity ; Rural consciousness ; Rural-urban divide
Published in:	Electoral studies, Vol. 95 (2025) , p. 102912, ISSN 1873-6890

DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2025.102912

11 p, 1.4 MB

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