{"title":"Challenging Growing Regional Inequality: Area-Based Policies in Germany as a Path to Equivalent Living Standards?","authors":"Naomi Alcaide Manthey","doi":"10.1007/s11615-025-00636-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11615-025-00636-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent years, inequality has deepened across many European countries. Targeted investments have seen limited success, and many democracies face growing polarization as disparities along economic, demographic, and social lines persist. In Germany, residents of structurally disadvantaged areas increasingly feel overlooked by policies focused on economic growth rather than everyday needs. This article explores what residents in these regions perceive as lacking in their living environments, what influences their satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and how well current policy, specifically the funding scheme of the Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures (GRW), responds to these concerns. Based on fieldwork in three GRW-eligible communities, the study compares local perceptions with the scheme's design and recent reforms. While reforms show a shift toward basic infrastructure, important aspects of daily life, such as transport, social spaces, and local retail, remain difficult to support under current funding rules. Civil society actors face limited access to resources, and municipalities often lack the capacity to apply for and implement available funds. These findings point to the need for better alignment between funding mechanisms and the lived realities in disadvantaged regions.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version of this article (10.1007/s11615-025-00636-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.</p>","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"67 3","pages":"477-504"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13503465/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148819950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inter-administrative Relations in the Federal System","authors":"Jörg Bogumil, Philipp Gräfe","doi":"10.1007/s11615-023-00525-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-023-00525-8","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"125 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139173740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lange, Hans-Jürgen (Hrsg.) (2022): Politik zwischen Macht und Ohnmacht. Zum politischen Umgang mit der Corona-Pandemie in Deutschland","authors":"Helge F. Jani","doi":"10.1007/s11615-023-00522-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-023-00522-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"67 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139008262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sonja Blum, Lasse Cronqvist, Hendrik W. Ohnesorge, Manuel Becker, Daniel Lambach, Julia Schwanholz, Katharina Glaab, Stephan Engelkamp
{"title":"Who Teaches in Germany and How? Debates on the Future of Teaching Political Science at German Universities","authors":"Sonja Blum, Lasse Cronqvist, Hendrik W. Ohnesorge, Manuel Becker, Daniel Lambach, Julia Schwanholz, Katharina Glaab, Stephan Engelkamp","doi":"10.1007/s11615-023-00512-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-023-00512-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"20 18","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139010649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bieling, Hans-Jürgen, Benjamin Ewert, Michael Haus, Monika Oberle, und Alexander Wohnig (Hrsg.) (2022): Politikwissenschaft trifft Politikdidaktik. Stand und Perspektiven der politikwissenschaftlichen Lehrerbildung","authors":"K. Pohl","doi":"10.1007/s11615-023-00519-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-023-00519-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"38 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138597571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When Parties Become Movements: the Movement-ization of Established Party Organizations in Austria, Germany, and the UK","authors":"Felix Butzlaff","doi":"10.1007/s11615-023-00524-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-023-00524-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"70 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138600520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Weber, Lianne, und Claudia Tazreiter (Hrsg.) (2021): Handbook of Migration and Global Justice","authors":"Friederike Alm","doi":"10.1007/s11615-023-00515-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-023-00515-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"65 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138598315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Honneth, Axel (2023): Der arbeitende Souverän. Eine normative Theorie der Arbeit","authors":"Hubertus Buchstein","doi":"10.1007/s11615-023-00516-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-023-00516-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45529,"journal":{"name":"Politische Vierteljahresschrift","volume":"19 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138601051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}