Unveiling Some Upcoming Research: Understanding Contemporary Divides...Namely the Physical Ones

You are not going to believe this, but we are living in an era of unprecedented divisions, amongst culture, country, religion, race, and people. The overwhelming majority of these divisions are often not very physically substantial-they are based on more subtle developments over long lengths of time (cultural conversations, normalized behavior, etc). They are hard to pinpoint yet rigid in identification. When it seems the ‘us vs. them’ mentality is dominant just about everywhere, these divides and their standing take all the more emphasis in any adequate comparative political inquiry.

Especially as I am longing to learn more about the world, its countries, and subdivisions in its variety of contexts, I figured shaking up this academic inquiry via a healthy dose of geography might be prudent. Although by no means necessarily conclusive nor elaborate, certain physical groupings within a people (most commonly grouped by country) and the divides stemming from them could provide new insight into the more neurological ones. The different regional, administrative, or provincial indicators, namely via GDP per capita as weighted by purchasing power parity, seem ideal in identifying one comparable theme across continents.

When it comes to such variables’ conclusions, I hope to pay special attention to both relative and absolute income inequality (the latter of which matters much in recognizing the vast different life outcomes based on country of origin and the former of which matters most when analyzing intra-country life outcomes). I don’t expect to find all the answers, but will be interested in how these divides present themselves both in a contemporary context as well as in relation to each other. It is not a cure-all, but a part of the piece to better understand how and why these divisions linger, as well understanding the means to assuage or, at the very least, alleviate them.

Currently, I am focusing on countries of which prior research (whether data-driven or perception-driven) has indicated them to be coherent case-studies. Notable focuses include Ukraine, an overall poorer Eastern European country with statistically low inequality; France, one of the most income-equal developed countries that simultaneously suffers from a stunningly visceral domestic outrage on economic divides; South Africa, whose racial history mixes in toxically with its stunningly high inequality; Japan, whose developed world standards carry a surprisingly Western dose of urban-rural divide; and Brazil, whose reputation for economic inequality is only further embodied by stunning state-to-state income differences.

A Look Into Some Upcoming Research

Expect many other smaller examples along the way as I look to hone my analysis and administrative-division-map-making skills.

BLESSUP

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