ER 2

Project: Theoretical foundations for transnational comparative research on governance of core-periphery relations

ER 2: Cyril Blondel (Host: UT)

Description:
During my 10-month participation in RegPol2, my goal was to develop a critical theoretical discussion on the way socio-spatial polarisation is discursively and conceptually approached.

In a short working paper (June 2015), I have argued in favour of an epistemological break in the use of certain terms (namely governance) in order to distance our research from the neoliberal bias that is entrenched in the actual dominant acceptations (e.g.in good or multi-level governance).

In a longer article (under review), I have advocated for more attention to be paid to the discursive mobilisation of territorial clichés (stigmas/praises) in socio-spatial relations. The aim would be to minimise our participation, as researchers, to the mythologisation of the concentration of marginality in some remote thus stigmatised areas, which goes hand-in-hand with the projection of fantasised pure centres. This way, we may be in better capacity to decipher (and resist to) power effects associated to the mobilisation of discourses on space to reinforce, justify and often reproduce social inequalities in Europe.