Voting behaviour has been in the focus of electoral geography for a hundred years; its relevance is equally high in the study of recently emerging democracies. The elections are a major source of legitimacy even in autocratic regimes with rigged or manipulated elections, and in countries which are switching from one type to another.

One dimension of regional differences, the urban-rural divide has become the most outstanding cleavage in the last decade. It explains many aspects of political behaviour, thus it is in the focus of attention in election times. The Brexit referendum and D. Trump’s victory in 2016 highlighted that the place of residence has a strong effect on political behaviour. In spite of growing mobility of population and the rising internet penetration rate, the urban-rural differences have increased in Europe as well as in North America.

New socio-political processes, like climate change, Covid-19 pandemic, fake news and conspiratorial theories, or the war in Ukraine also influence the election results. Their effect on political behaviour is different among countries, regions and types of settlements.

Researchers of political geography are invited to this session regardless whether they focus on the spatial patterns of voting or on the spatial aspects of other kinds of political behaviour. Papers dealing with electoral geography can analyse any (European, national, regional, local) elections at any territorial level (from the comparison of different countries till the exploration of differences between the wards of cities), and also the difference between the results of postal votes and voting polls. Topics like the connection between election results and geographical distribution of constituencies, the gerrymandering and malapportionment can also be addressed.

The session is not limited to the analyses of elections; papers on other types of political activity like participation in referendums or protest movements are also welcome. These activities are important parts of political behaviour both in democratic and authoritarian regimes.

The aim of the session is to provide a forum for different approaches to political geography and for researchers using different methods in the study of political behaviour.