Adamiak C., Rodríguez-Pose A., Churski P., Dubownik A., Pietrzykowski M., Szyda B., Rosik P., 2024. PLACES THAT MATTER AND PLACES THAT DON’T: TERRITORIAL REVENGE AND COUNTER-REVENGE IN POLAND. 02/2014 - Working Paper of TIPERICO Project. Faculty of Human Geography and Planning, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań.
ABSTRACT: Poland presents a compelling case study in the rise of right-wing populism. In 2023, after eight years at the helm, the anti-elitist and Eurosceptic PiS party lost the parliamentary elections. This paper explores the geography of this political shift, analysing election results from 2011 to 2023 against the backdrop of regional socio-economic divide. Our findings reveal that PiS’s support base expanded in areas marked by multidimensional peripherality, while its recent loss is primarily attributed to the political mobilisation of prosperous core areas. The study underscores the perpetuation of territorial disparities, highlighting the challenges of the growing geographic political polarisation.
KEYWORDS: political geography; electoral geography; regional development; core-periphery pattern; right-wing populism; Europe; Poland
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. We investigate the geography of right-wing populist PiS victory and defeat.
2. Following the ‘revenge’ peripheral places brought PiS to power, electoral ‘counter-revenge’ of core areas brought victory to the anti-PiS coalition.
3. Expanding political polarisation between core areas and multidimensional peripheries poses a challenge to spatial policy.