Rethinking Rural Politics

Rural communities in the United States have become a distinctive political concern. In this interdisciplinary volume, Nicholas Jacobs brings together a collection of leading experts in rural studies to offer a comprehensive framework for understanding rural America and expand the scope of existing research.

With data-driven analysis, this volume challenges rural-urban binaries by highlighting difference and evolution among rural people, challenging stereotypical narratives about rural decline and political extremism. By illuminating specific aspects of rural life and place-based experience, cutting-edge contributions consider the intersecting influences of social identity, economics, policy change, and media representation on rural life.  

• Provides a detailed exploration and granular analysis of rural political identity and behavior
• Meets the high interest in the rural-urban political divide, its sources, in the US.
• provides a comprehensive examination of rural political identity

Nicholas F. Jacobs is The Goldfarb Family Distinguished Chair in American Government at Colby College and the Inaugural Director of Colby’s Public Policy Lab. He writes widely about political geography, federalism, and rural politics.