The Urban–Rural Divide in People’s Minds: Stereotypes of Urbanites and Ruralites in Nine European Countries - Political Behavior

Recent scholarship increasingly views the reemergence of the urban–rural divide in political behavior through the lens of social identity theory. Given this understanding of political divisions between cities and the countryside, it is crucial to investigate how urban and rural social groups are perceived, specifically, to what extent these groups are associated with entrenched stereotypes. Examining the urban–rural divide in people’s minds through a conjoint experiment, this paper sheds light on stereotypes of urbanites and ruralites in nine European countries. The results indicate that rural residents are typically viewed as Eurosceptic, anti-immigrant, working-class, older, and less educated. By contrast, typical urbanites are perceived as Europhile, pro-immigrant, upper-middle-class, younger, and university-educated. These perceptions are not held uniformly, however. Individuals tend to project their own characteristics onto others, perceiving those similar to themselves as more typical members of their place-based in-group. Likewise, a similar logic emerges regarding the relationship between urban–rural stereotypes and affect. While individuals tend to express warmer feelings toward those they perceive as typical members of their place-based in-group, these affective evaluations critically depend on whether individuals themselves align with the stereotypes in question. Overall, these findings provide systematic evidence on stereotyping along the urban–rural divide. By way of that, they further underscore the importance of a social identity perspective to political divisions between urban and rural residents.

doi.org

Supranationalisation without integration: how European Council normalisation empowers the Commission in EU migration policies

The polycrisis has reshuffled the European Union (EU)'s institutional balance of power, raising new questions about the normalisation of European Council-European Commission relations. Drawing on m...

doi.org

When everyone talks about migration: how mainstream parties shift to the right and still lose

The rise of populist radical right parties (PRRPs) has prompted mainstream parties (MPs) to adopt more sceptical positions toward immigration. Spatial theory suggests that MPs benefit electorally b...

tandfonline.com

Assistant Professor in Political Science, Specialization in Public Policy and Governance

Are you an enthusiastic public policy scholar with a passion for education? Do you conduct research on the practices and politics of collaborative governance or of digital transformation of governance...

academictransfer.com

PhD Project to support ERC Consolidator grant INEQCHANGE Sub-national economic inequalities and electoral change in Europe led by Prof Sofia Vasilopoulou at King’s College London on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - PhD Project to support ERC Consolidator grant INEQCHANGE Sub-national economic inequalities and electoral change in Europe led by Prof Sofia Vasilopoulou at King’s College London, listed...

findaphd.com

Political Communication

SI-Multi-Platform Research. Volume 43, Issue 2 of Political Communication

tandfonline.com

Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants

nytimes.com

Divided we stand? Demographic sorting and regional polarization in German electoral behavior beyond the east-west divide - kai arzheimer

Regional differences in electoral results are hardly a new phenomenon: after all, they are a major motivation for creating electoral systems based on

kai-arzheimer.com

2 two-year postdocs on children’s political socialization at Aarhus University - Vacancy at Aarhus University

Vacancy at Department of Political Science, Aarhus University

international.au.dk

Electoral vulnerability and women MPs’ estimation of voters’ preferences on women’s issues | European Journal of Political Research | Cambridge Core

Electoral vulnerability and women MPs’ estimation of voters’ preferences on women’s issues

cambridge.org

Three 2-year Postdoctoral positions at Aarhus University: Projects on personality cults and strategic communication in autocracies - Vacancy at Aarhus University

Vacancy at Department of Political Science, Aarhus University

international.au.dk

UCL – University College London

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

ucl.ac.uk

PostDoc for the Development of Training in Empirical Social Research Methods (KEO-50) | Jobs at GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften

GESIS is one of the world's leading social science infrastructure facilities, supporting researchers at all levels of their research projects with expertise and infrastructure services. We help ensure that socially relevant questions can be answered based on reliable data, the latest scientific methods and research information. We help with study planning and data collection, provide high-quality research data, support with data preparation and analysis, and finally with data archiving.GESIS helps you gain further qualifications. We offer our employees a wide range of career opportunities in an appealing work environment with a high degree of personal responsibility and creative freedom. With us, you will work in an international environment in the heart of Mannheim and Cologne and benefit from a flexible work environment as well as internal and external networks.GESIS ensures compliance with the guidelines for the severely disabled and promotes professional equality between women and men. Full-time positions can also be filled on a part-time basis.As a family-friendly employer, we have been certified by the “berufundfamilie” audit since 2010.Further information on working at GESIS can be found here.

gesis.jobs.personio.de

Find out more and apply

Deadline: Thursday 7 May 2026

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Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.

rhulpsychology.eu.qualtrics.com

Research Officers x4 (POPGOV, PI Bruno Leipold) at London School of Economics and Political Science

Apply for the Research Officers x4 (POPGOV, PI Bruno Leipold) role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.

jobs.ac.uk

Hybrid Ethnography and Digital Activism - AISSR

The AISSR and MEN4DEM project welcome Liz Przybylski for a lecture and panel on hybrid ethnography and digital activism, exploring how digital platforms shape inequality, knowledge, and political mobi...

aissr.uva.nl

Stellenangebote

ips.mpg.de

The Government and Politics of the European Union

The definitive textbook on EU politics and governance, now in its 9th edition, has been thoroughly updated to take into account the ongoing developments and evo…

bloomsbury.com