European Journal of Geography

Right-Wing Rearticulations of Europe: Contested Geographical Imaginaries in German and French Parliamentary Social Media

Hannah Lena Boettcher, Georg Glasze — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Since the late 2010s, Europe as a political and spatial project has become increasingly contested in political discourse. This contestation has unfolded amid overlapping crises such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2019 European elections. Right-wing populist actors have played a central role in reshaping political narratives about Europe. This study examines how hegemonic geographical imaginaries of Europe are challenged in parliamentary discourse between 2019 and 2022, a period marked by a qualitative shift in Euroscepticism towards its normalisation. Focusing on Germany and France, two central yet distinct reference points of European integration, we analyse tweets by members of the German Bundestag and the French Assemblée Nationale, with particular attention to the right-wing parties Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and Rassemblement National (RN). Drawing on lexicometric corpus analysis of Twitter communication, we examine how competing geographical imaginaries of Europe are articulated, stabilised, and contested. The analysis shows that mainstream parliamentary discourse continues to frame Europe primarily as an institutional and normative space. By contrast, AfD and RN mobilise counter-hegemonic imaginaries centred on borders, migration, and sovereignty, selectively appropriating core European vocabularies. Although German and French parliamentary discourse differ in their broader spatial orientations—towards Eastern Europe and global power relations in Germany, and towards national and post-colonial contexts in France—right-wing actors in both cases converge on a markedly nationalised and exclusionary spatial re-articulation of Europe. These findings highlight how social media facilitate the diffusion and normalisation of exclusionary geographical imaginaries and contribute to their cross-national alignment.

Highlights:

Right-wing populist actors normalise exclusionary geographical imaginaries of Europe.
AfD and RN appropriate European vocabularies to legitimise nationalist spatial narratives.
Despite national differences, right-wing parties converge on a nationalised spatial narrative of Europe.

Lost in Geography: Croatia’s Identity Crisis

Jurica Botić — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0300

Historically situated at the geographic crossroads of former Austro-Hungarian and Venetian territories along the westernmost Ottoman border and having experienced two Yugoslav states in the 20th century, contemporary Croatia is shaped by diverse spatial identity influences. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of border identities and regional institutionalisation, this paper explores the identity profiling of modern Croatia within the context of European regionalisation. The research employs a methodological triangulation of diverse discursive sources—including an analysis of geography textbooks, official state documents, and tourism branding—contrasted with media reports and an extensive public survey conducted among a sample of 456 respondents. Specifically, Croatia’s official discourse prioritises its affiliation with the Central European and Mediterranean spheres while strategically marginalising the Balkan context often using Southeast Europe as a more neutral geopolitical substitute. Conversely, the findings reveal a layered identity construct among the public, where Mediterranean, Central European, and Balkan geo-cultural spheres overlap. The results suggest that contemporary Croatia functions as a geographic transition zone where multiple regional frameworks interweave into a multidimensional sense of place, without the territory being fixed within a single regional entity.

Highlights:

A gap exists between official discourse and public perception of Croatia’s regional affiliation.
Croatia functions as a geographic transition zone with overlapping regional spheres.
The strategic significance of Mediterranean rebranding for Croatia.

A Comparative Assessment of Spatial Factors Influencing Women's Access to High-Skilled Employment in Albania, Bulgaria, and Türkiye

Carolina Mayen Huerta, Clara Ivanescu, Dragos Gontariu — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Women’s labor force participation remains limited in many parts of Southeast Europe and surrounding regions, including Albania, Bulgaria, and Türkiye. While prior research has examined social and institutional drivers of low female labor force participation, the influence of geographic factors on women’s access to employment has received comparatively less attention. This study addresses that gap by applying the Geospatial Women’s Employment Analytical Framework (GeoWEAF) to assess how place-based factors shape women’s high-skilled employment opportunities in Albania, Bulgaria, and Türkiye. These countries were selected due to their shared challenges in advancing gender equality in employment, as well as their differing institutional contexts, development trajectories, and stages of European Union integration, making them a valuable basis for comparative analysis. This application modifies the original framework by excluding the environmental hazards factor, given its ambiguous and non-directional effects, and by introducing spatially disaggregated representations of attitudes toward women in STEM and digital inclusion, which were originally applied at the national level. It also revises the methodology for assessing active transport to address data limitations and adjusts both the scoring and weighting schemes to better capture the contextual and spatial variation in the selected countries. The analysis reveals that, although urban areas generally exhibit higher levels of enablement, substantial intra-urban variation persists, with some areas within cities displaying levels of enablement comparable to rural regions. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating spatial analysis into gender and labor market research. Mapping underserved areas in services and infrastructure, and those exhibiting heightened vulnerability to risks, can enhance the targeting of interventions to accelerate women’s inclusion in the workforce.

Highlights:

This study used GeoWEAF to examine spatial inequalities in women's access to high-skilled employment.
The results reveal persistent spatial disparities, including within major urban areas.
Spatial analysis should play a central role in gender-focused labor diagnostics to inform inclusive development policies.

A Data-driven Approach to Assess the Need for Priority Treat-ment of Potentially Contaminated Sites (PCSs) in Slovenia

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0200

This paper presents a multi-criteria decision-making model for assessing the need for priority treatment of potentially contaminated sites (PCSs) in Slovenia, with the aim of reducing risks to human health and preventing further environmental degradation, and to support the establishment of a national PCS management system. We established and developed a model consisting of four criteria and nine indicators reflecting environmental sensitivity and human-health risk. Application of the model shows that 35 sites (5%) fall into the highest vulnerability class, while additional 196 sites require accelerated investigation or remediation. The largest share of sites (248) exhibits a moderate need for priority treatment. Spatial analysis reveals that many PCSs are located on permeable geological formations, near surface waters, or within water protection zones, underscoring their exposure to contaminant migration. These vulnerabilities are further amplified by increasing climate-related hazards, such as extreme precipitation and flooding. The proposed approach provides an objective basis for identifying the most critical sites where interventions would yield the greatest environmental, social, and economic benefits. It supports more strategic decision making, optimizes resource allocation, and strengthens Slovenia’s capacity to implement national and European environmental and climate commitments.

Highlights:

The first geographic method from Slovenia for assessing the need for priority treatment of PCSs.
Over 60 attributes are monitored for each PCS.
5% of PCSs were classified in the 5th class with the highest vulnerability level (need urgent priority treatment).
PCSs hotspots in Slovenia are found in the wider area of larger towns, in lowlands, plains, along major rivers, along main road and railway connections, and transport nodes.

USAID Assistance to Economic Development of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Overview of Major Initiatives in Selected Sectors

Aida Avdić Marić, Amina Sivac, Boris Avdić — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Southeast European country and a European Union (EU) candidate state, is characterized by complex social, political and economic structures that influence its development trajectory. As a post-transition economy, it faces persistent structural challenges, including low economic growth and institutional fragmentation. The United States Agency for International Development (has been an important factor in supporting development through long-term programs, yet recent changes in the status of its operations have raised questions about the sustainability of its interventions and future economic dynamics. This paper examines the spatial distribution of selected USAID-funded economic projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on diaspora investments, agriculture, tourism and energy policy. By analyzing program documentation and examining the spatial distribution of municipal-level participation, the study provides insights into the economic and geographic impact of USAID selected initiatives. The findings indicate an uneven territorial impact, with more frequent participation in municipalities with stronger institutional and economic capacity and more limited coverage in peripheral and structurally weaker areas. While the analyzed initiatives contributed to sectoral development and capacity-building, their uneven spatial concentration suggests potential territorial vulnerabilities over time. In this context, USAID’s engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been economically, institutionally and geopolitically significant.

Highlights:

Recent USAID activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina had economic impact with spatial disparities.
Since 2020, key programs focus on agriculture, energy, tourism and diaspora investment.
Termination of USAID programs threatens many projects vital to local communities.

Cluster Analysis of Neighborhood-Level Earthquake Risk Profiles in Istanbul: A Data-Driven Approach to a Magnitude 7.5 Mw Scenario

Rıdvan Avcı, Filiz Ersöz — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Urban seismic risk assessments in Istanbul have predominantly focused on district level loss estimates, even though mitigation and emergency response decisions are implemented at much finer administrative units. This study develops a neighborhood-based classification of earthquake risk for all 959 neighborhoods under a deterministic Mw 7.5 scenario. The analysis relies on the official Istanbul Earthquake Loss Estimation Update dataset prepared by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in cooperation with the Kandilli Observatory. Eight scenario-based outcome indicators, including four structural damage and four human impact variables, are first transformed using Yeo-Johnson and Min-Max scaling and then reduced through Principal Component Analysis, which explains 96.3 percent of the total variance in two components. Within this reduced space, K-Means, K-Medoids, Gaussian Mixture Models, Spectral Clustering, and HDBSCAN are systematically compared. Model selection is guided by internal validation criteria, the Gap Statistic, and bootstrap stability analysis. Based on this combined assessment, K-Medoids with k equal to 2 emerges as the most parsimonious and stable clustering solution. The resulting High Impact and Low Impact profiles show statistically significant differences across all indicators and remain highly consistent across 300 bootstrap resamples, with a mean Adjusted Rand Index of 0.976. The identified medoid neighborhoods provide concrete reference cases for targeted planning interventions. Spatially, higher impact areas are concentrated along the Marmara coastal corridor and older urban cores, whereas lower impact neighborhoods are more common in northern districts. By converting detailed scenario outputs into stable neighborhood level risk categories, the study provides a structured basis for prioritizing mitigation investments, preparedness actions, and emergency response planning at the local scale.

Highlights:

Classified 959 Istanbul neighborhoods into data driven risk profiles under a Mw 7.5 scenario
Compared five clustering algorithms and identified K-Medoids (k = 2) as the most consistent solution
Demonstrated high cluster stability with a mean Adjusted Rand Index of 0.976
Identified real medoid neighborhoods as actionable reference cases for planning

Editorial Performance and Research Trends at the European Journal of Geography, 2025

Alexandros Bartzokas-Tsiompras; Kostis C. Koutsopoulos — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0200

This editorial reflects on the work and direction of the European Journal of Geography during 2025. The year unfolded amid geo-political tension, accelerating climate change, and deepening socio-spatial inequalities, conditions which once again highlighted why geographical thinking matters. Over the year, the journal published 43 articles across 569 pages, with strong contributions in urban geography, spatial analysis, environmental change, mobility, and geography education. A dedicated Special Issue on Spatial Humanities broadened interdisciplinary exchange and supported methodological openness across the discipline. The editorial also reviews patterns in submissions, authorship, peer review, and thematic focus, pointing to a growing and increasingly international scholarly community. Taken together, the articles published in 2025 speak to pressing questions of spatial justice, technological change, and social transformation, while reinforcing the journal’s role as a space for critical, engaged, and policy-relevant geographical research under conditions of uncertainty.

Assessing Coastal Heritage Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise in the Mediterranean: Towards Usable Knowledge and Integrated Adaptation Frameworks

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Mediterranean coasts have one of the world’s richest concentrations of cultural heritage, yet this legacy is increasingly threatened by sea-level rise (SLR), coastal erosion and storm impacts. Despite a growing number of local and thematic studies, regional syntheses remain scarce. This paper presents a semi-quantitative review of more than sixty peer-reviewed publications and institutional reports (2010–2024) addressing coastal heritage vulnerability in the Mediterranean. Drawing on a harmonised database, each study has been classified by country, heritage type, threat, temporal horizon and methodological approach, and evaluated through standardised severity (0–5) and risk (1–3) scales. Results reveal three interrelated dimensions of imbalance—geographical, methodological and temporal. Geographically, a pronounced north–south asymmetry persists: Italy, Spain and Greece concentrate more than half of all studies, while North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean remain under-represented. Methodologically, about 45% of works employ DEM-based geospatial modelling, 25% rely on field evidence, and only 10% address management or policy dimensions. Prospectively, most analyses project impacts to 2100 under high-emission scenarios, with more than 70% of assessed sites showing moderate-to-high vulnerability. Although comprehensive, the sample is not systematic, and geographic patterns partly reflect differences in research capacity rather than exposure. A critical weakness identified across the literature is the limited transfer of scientific results into usable frameworks for planners and heritage managers, underscoring the need for performance and usability assessment in future climate-adaptation research. Advancing this field requires standardised indicators, broader regional coverage, and stronger interdisciplinary integration between coastal science, archaeology and heritage management to inform effective adaptation strategies for safeguarding Mediterranean coastal heritage under accelerating climate change.

Highlights:

Research heavily concentrates in Italy, Spain, and Greece.
Dominance of geospatial modelling over management and policy.
Urgent need to transform scientific results into usable management tools.