Urbanisation and the shifting conditions of the state as a territorial-political community: A study of the geographies of political efficacy

Abstract

In this paper, we contribute to recent debates on the geographies of discontent by examining the implications of urbanisation on the state as a territorial-political community in the European context. Building on an Arendtian conception of politics, we argue that the emergence of the “urban” as a dominant spatio-political imaginary has led to a narrowing of the conditions of politics and political agency within states. The urban imaginary has provoked selective spatio-political discourses, geopolitical strategies, and policy practices that have resulted in the exclusion of certain social and spatial fractions of society from a shared sense of community and political agency within the state. To demonstrate this point, we empirically analysed the experience of political efficacy in Europe. The results of our analysis show that perceived external political efficacy is weakest in more rural settings and in regions with low GDP and a declining population. Accordingly, we suggest that policy measures ought to be directed against this sort of political alienation and should be used to create a stronger sense of political belonging and community.