POLRUST

Political Disaffection in Europe’s Rust Belt Regions

Funding body: Regional Studies Association
Grant Holder: Anne Marie Jeannet
Project Duration: 2018-2020

Project Description: The aim of this project is to characterize the nature of political disaffection in rust belt regions explain its emergence and to understand how regional industrial decline reconfigures its citizens’ relationship with the nation state. The project will focus on European regions in a comparative perspective through the disciplinary lens of political sociology. The project is centered around three research questions: 1) How has political disaffection evolved in rust belt regions and how do these trends compare to regions that have not undergone mass deindustrailization? 2) What are the mechanisms through which regional deindustrialization produces political disaffection ? 3) How is political disaffection manifested in political participation in rust belt regions and are grievances directed towards national or supranational institutions?