This special issue of Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift explores the political divide between urban and rural areas, reflecting on how geographical differences impact political behavior and voter preferences. In the past decade, several studies have highlighted the territorial dimension as a significant political cleavage, finding that rural vot-ers, places hit hard by economic globalization, as well as those residing in peripheral regions, often hold different values and are more likely to support populist and radical right parties compared to urban voters. The various contributions in this issue analyze and discuss various factors that may explain urban-rural differences in Sweden, such as uneven economic and demographic development, education levels, and population composition based on foreign background, and how political decisions reshape urban and rural landscapes through investments or closures of services. The issue also illustrates trends in political polarization across the urban-rural divide in Sweden.