Rural areas and the geography of discontent
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Agnieszka Kulesa
Specialist in Social Sciences
Agnieszka Kulesa has been working at CASE since 2018. She specialises in the labour market, international labour migration, and migration policies within and outside the European Union.
Articles from this author:
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Exploring the Entrepreneurial Potential of Belarusian Migrants in the EU
This Working Paper aims to deepen the understanding of Belarusian migration to the EU, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship among Belarusian migrants.
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Intergenerational Dialogue for the Future of My City
The publication is an educator's guidebook designed to inspire and support discussions between youth and elderly participants about shaping the future of urban environments. Created as part of the "Future for All" project by CASE (Center for Social and Economic Research), this guidebook uses Warsaw as a case study but provides adaptable insights for cities globally. It is funded by the European Economic Area and Norwegian Financial Mechanism (2014–2021). The guidebook delves into critical themes, including: Demography: Addressing the implications of an ageing population, declining birth rates, and migration patterns for urban planning and social cohesion. Migration: Exploring the integration of diverse populations and fostering intercultural and intergenerational understanding. Climate Change: Highlighting urban sustainability through public initiatives like green spaces and waste reduction. Digitalisation: Emphasizing smart city development while bridging the generational digital divide. Central to its approach are intergenerational activities that foster collaboration and mutual understanding, with a focus on scenario planning, problem-solving, and community engagement. This resource equips educators with tools to promote critical thinking and inclusivity, encouraging young and older citizens alike to actively shape resilient and sustainable urban communities.
- Poland’s Migration Strategy for 2025-2030 – Expert Commentary
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Exploring the Entrepreneurial Potential of Belarusian Migrants in the EU
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Martyna Gliniecka
Martyna Gliniecka holds a PhD in Linguistics, specialising in cross-cultural communication, from the University of Wroclaw. She is awaiting the finalisation of her second PhD in the Culture and Society field from Western Sydney University, Australia. She previously led and participated in research projects in the Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University, aiming to better young people’s lives and their resilience in the domains of technology and health. She specialises in qualitative research methods, participatory methodologies, and digital research (e.g., digital ethnography). She is especially interested in online communities and their role in the growing domain of youth digital health.
Articles from this author:
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Blueprint and Methodology for Innovative Governance
The publication is a key deliverable within the BioBeo project, funded under the Horizon Europe program. It provides a structured approach to integrating bioeconomy education into school curricula across different institutional and social environments. The report examines the actors involved in curriculum decision-making, from policymakers and school administrators to parents, students, and businesses. It categorizes existing procedures for introducing new content into schools, whether initiated by teachers, school heads, or government authorities. Key barriers—legal, organizational, and socio-cultural—are identified, along with strategies to overcome them. A central theme is the importance of inclusive governance in education, advocating for participatory decision-making that involves various stakeholders. Recommendations highlight the need for flexibility in curriculum design, adequate funding, professional support for teachers, and depoliticization of educational content. The report concludes by situating these findings within the broader BioBeo curriculum framework, reinforcing the role of education in fostering a sustainable and circular bioeconomy.
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Intergenerational Dialogue for the Future of My City
The publication is an educator's guidebook designed to inspire and support discussions between youth and elderly participants about shaping the future of urban environments. Created as part of the "Future for All" project by CASE (Center for Social and Economic Research), this guidebook uses Warsaw as a case study but provides adaptable insights for cities globally. It is funded by the European Economic Area and Norwegian Financial Mechanism (2014–2021). The guidebook delves into critical themes, including: Demography: Addressing the implications of an ageing population, declining birth rates, and migration patterns for urban planning and social cohesion. Migration: Exploring the integration of diverse populations and fostering intercultural and intergenerational understanding. Climate Change: Highlighting urban sustainability through public initiatives like green spaces and waste reduction. Digitalisation: Emphasizing smart city development while bridging the generational digital divide. Central to its approach are intergenerational activities that foster collaboration and mutual understanding, with a focus on scenario planning, problem-solving, and community engagement. This resource equips educators with tools to promote critical thinking and inclusivity, encouraging young and older citizens alike to actively shape resilient and sustainable urban communities.
- The EU regional policy and regional policy challenges in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic, Montenegro and Serbia
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Blueprint and Methodology for Innovative Governance
This study applies a rural-urban lens to the outcomes of recent national and subnational elections of European Union (EU) Member States, with the aim of analysing Eurosceptic (anti-EU values) voting patterns and identifying possible explanations for voter discontent in rural areas.
Findings show high Eurosceptic voting in many rural areas across the EU. At national election level, this rural-urban trend is most marked in Member States that are the most Eurosceptic overall. In Italy, for instance, the largest share of support for anti-EU parties comes from rural areas. In Poland and Hungary, Eurosceptic support is primarily driven by rural areas. However, rural Euroscepticism also occurs in less Eurosceptic countries: in the Netherlands, while most regions did not reach a 25% vote threshold for anti-EU parties, the country’s only rural region, Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen, reached a 33% vote share. Similarly, in countries such as Portugal, Croatia and Estonia, the one or few Eurosceptic regions are all predominantly rural.
The study identifies electoral patterns in anti-EU voting, which demonstrate how rural areas can be central to the success of Eurosceptic parties at both national and subnational level. Overall, these findings underscore the potential repercussions for the EU in neglecting rural areas. They validate institutional actors’ concerns in relation to ongoing initiatives targeting the strengthening of rural areas (such as long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas 2040) and underscore their urgency, particularly in a year of important upcoming elections across different levels of administrative bodies in Europe. More broadly, the study’s conclusions provide a useful basis to reflect and debate the rural dimension of Eurosceptic and anti-EU sentiment, including origins and consequences, which impact not only the well-being of EU citizens, but the values and future of the EU itself. The study concludes with a series of questions for further reflection by European Committee of the Region members and the wider stakeholder community.