PROXIMITY POLITICS by Jeronimo Cortina covers "How Distance Shapes Public Opinion and Political Behaviors." Published by Columbia University Press, this text has a very scholarly tone. Cortina uses contemporary issues like the Black Lives Matter movement and climate change to illustrate his point. Chapters are devoted to specific topics like flooding in Houston or the Texas drought situation. He explores quite interesting regression analyses and utilizes roughly thirty percent of the book as an appendix with graphs and data, followed by notes and an index. A quite dense work, PROXIMITY POLITICS will be of most interest to other scholars.

Obvious "Research" Yet Still Manages To Be Hyper Political. The basic premise of this book is that people are more about those things that are physically, emotionally, or ideologically close to them. Ok, and the sky is blue. Next. Oh, but now there's numbers showing this! And? There are numbers showing why the sky is blue. Nobody cares. Well, maybe the scientists and pedants. Aha! The target audience for this very academically oriented text!

I'll grant that the length of the bibliography is solid, clocking in at 30% of the text of the Advance Review Copy of this book that I read. Though content wise, it seems cherry picked specifically to support the author's conclusions rather than offer a more well rounded view of the topic.

In making claims such as "Partisan polarization proved to be the deadliest factor for Americans' health." (while blaming elderly Americans for their own deaths during the COVID event) and saying the US-Mexico border "The US -Mexico border as we know it today is a product of historical correction that took place in 1896 to rectify mapping errors from the US-Mexican War of 1849-1855. However, it is not merely a line drawn by Washington, DC and Mexico City to separate two nations. Rather, it is a dynamic permeable membrane shaped by centuries of movement and interaction among indigenous peoples, Spaniards, Mexicans, and Americans.", Cortina makes statements that his fellow members of the Academy may agree with... that will leave the rest of us in the "real" world wondering what the fuck those "Academics" are smoking, and if we can have some - particularly in these last days before the 2024 Presidential election. And then there is the fictitious claim that "assault rifles" exist (they don't) or that anthropogenic "climate change" is causing ever more natural disasters. Here, I'll at least give Cortina credit for moderating a *touch* in later chapters and moving on to a more "regardless of origins, it is happening" approach - which is still not actually borne out in the data, but is at least much closer to reality. Cortina would argue that my own proximal politics - growing up in the foothills of the Appalachians yet currently living just six miles off the beach - influences our disagreement here... I would argue reality does. ;)

And that is ultimately how anyone is going to find this book. If you like academic treatises with a strong leftward bent, you're going to enjoy what Cortina has put together here, obvious though it may be. Hey, there's numbers now! ;) If you find yourself not drawn to that type of book... spare Cortina the much more vicious take down that even *I* was tempted to write and just ignore this book. Your cardiologist will hate you for it, but your family will love you ever more for allowing them a few more days with you from not having a heart attack over this book. :D

Recommended, but only for very select readers.

3.5 stars

Proximity Politics is a dense yet fascinating read on the various aspects that go into decision-making and the way sociopolitical/economical/cultural schools of thought are all influenced by direct geographic relation. It explores the idea of 'Otherness' and separation and how that distance shapes what we care about and how much we care about it. Only when we are directly impacted (i.e., in the climate change chapter), do we truly begin to care and allow it to influence decisions in such areas as voting and policy. This book does a great job of highlighting the way that community is shaped and how that community goes on to shape our politics. I will reiterate, though, that it is quite dense and filled with lots of information that can make it heavy to get through at times.

Proximity Politics offers an insightful analysis of how geographical, social, and cultural proximity shape political behavior and influence voter decisions. Cortina delves into the concept that people’s political views are often influenced by their immediate surroundings, including their neighbors, communities, and social networks. Overall, this is an engaging and informative read that highlights the importance of community influence in shaping political landscapes, making it valuable for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of voter decision-making.

**⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A Fascinating Exploration of Distance and Politics**

Jeronimo Cortina’s *Proximity Politics: How Distance Shapes Public Opinion and Political Behaviors* offers a compelling examination of how physical and social distance influences political attitudes and behaviors. Cortina’s research provides valuable insights into the effects of proximity on public opinion, revealing how varying degrees of distance impact political engagement and perception. The book is well-structured and thought-provoking, with a strong theoretical foundation and practical examples. While some sections may benefit from a deeper dive into empirical data, *Proximity Politics* is an enlightening read for those interested in understanding the nuanced ways in which distance affects political dynamics.

Sadly, I didn't finish this one for a few reasons. The writing style wasn't for me, I always overestimate my interest in US politics, and it's the first time I've tried to read a quantitative study textbook cover to cover. Alas, I'm a qualitative girl at heart and this couldn't hold my interest.

This book was a pretty dense read, full of information and research. The “proximity” of our cultures, experiences, misconceptions, and our actual distance contributes to the way we approach different policies.
It was interesting to see the shifts between one policy and the other. For instance, those who don’t live as close to the border are much more phased by sensational media coverage and care about extreme immigration policies than those who can look first hand at the border for themselves and not get caught up in media soundbites. On the other hand, in policies such as climate change, those who experience extreme weather themselves and closer to the issue are more likely to accept what is being said about human contributions to the global environment as fact.

Well written throughout this was an engaging delve into an important yet subtle factor that contributes to our reaction to world events. A really interesting concept that is presented well.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Does distance shape the way we care about things? As someone who works in media monitoring I wanna say yes, I do think that the general public cares more about what’s happening in its country than what’s happening on the other side of the word.
In this book the author proves my theory (which is nice :D) but the “proximity” of the title does not only refer to distance. Proximity means distance of course, but also a proximity to a culture, a language, experiences… Hypothesis backed up by data (and maps !) show that yes we are more likely to care or to worry if something happening speaks to us : because it’s geographically close, because we know people experiencing this, because we share a culture…