ITN RegPol2 studies socio-economic and political responses to regional polarisation in Central and Eastern Europe
For the better part of its existence, the European Union has placed a model of balanced spatial development at the core of its regional policy. In spite of this, spatial patterns of inequality have not only persisted, but have rather continued to widen. At the regional scale, the stark contrasts between metropolised core regions and non-metropolitan areas are becoming a typical occurrence not only in the Central and Eastern European space, but also across the Union's territory as a whole. The ITN RegPol2 research project aims to explore the reasons and implications of such developments from three perspectives: the evolution, (re-)production, and persistence of centrality and peripherality (Work Package 1), the governance of core-periphery relations (Work Package 2), and adaptation, strategies, and potentials to overcome spatial disparities (Work Package 3) in selected Central and Eastern European countries. RegPol2 is a Marie Curie Initial Training Network engaging 16 researchers – 13 doctoral students (Early Stage Researchers) and 3 postdoctoral researchers (Experienced Researchers) – with multinational and diverse backgrounds in strongly interconnected and interdisciplinary projects. Research is conducted in an intersectoral and interdisciplinary context including experts from academia, non-profit organisations and the private sector in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. The project is coordinated by the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig (Germany). Dr. Thilo Lang, the scientific coordinator of RegPol², underlines that the project’s prime concern is the significant increase of regional disparities across Europe during the past years: 'We have the unique opportunity to provide an in-depth analysis of the reasons behind those processes, and by doing so, open up new perspectives for a growing cohesion of Europe's regions.' The methodology of the individual projects within RegPol2 is based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative social science methods applied in a transnational comparative framework of two to three case studies. This approach is practically supported by facilitating researchers’ participation in secondments. The goal is to enable fellows to collaborate with leading academic figures of the countries they are visiting, but also to broaden perspectives by detaching research from the institutional and cultural norms in which it is typically embedded. To date, two weeklong network-wide events have brought researchers and partners together with the core purpose of facilitating shared learning and collaboration in developing the individual projects. Keynote lecturers and guests included Merje Kuus (University of British Columbia) and Ulrich Ermann (University of Graz) at the November event at Slovak Technical University, and Anssi Paasi (University of Oulu) and Eiki Nestor (President of the Riigikogu, Estonian Parliament) at the February event held at Tartu University. Further events are planned on a biannual basis and will provide further opportunities for external researchers to participate in the network. ITN RegPol2 received funding through the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (Marie Curie Actions) under grant agreement number 607022. For more information, visit the project website: www.regpol2.eu
Countries
Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia