Dobysh M. Territorial differences in political beliefs in Ukraine: political geography aspect

Dissertation thesis presents a study of territorial differences in political beliefs in Ukraine from human geography perspective. First, such theoretical approaches to electoral geography as a compositional effect, contextual effect, neighborhood effect, the effect of friends and neighbors, John Agnew’s place theory, cleavages theory, territorial polarization, and homogenization, as well as developments of electoral geography in Ukraine are analyzed. As a result, the dissertation proposes to widen frames of geographical studies of territorial differences in political beliefs in Ukraine to include interdisciplinary dialog, economic voting, moral foundations theory, issues of identity studies, and funnel model. Social, historical, and political divisions in society are not always cleavages. Consequently, it is proposed to distinguish structural, political, and electoral cleavages. It is suggested to understand electoral cleavages as thick lines of division during electoral campaigns time, structural cleavages as historically formed fundamental social divisions of society, and political cleavages as a crystallization of electoral and structural cleavages among elites.