There is a growing convergence of interest and effort on both sides of the Atlantic to bridge geographic economic divides and reconnect residents of rural and former industrial heartland communities to economic opportunity.
Where this has been done successfully, it serves to return community pride and optimism about the future, as well as diminish the appeal of polarizing, resentment-driven, isolationist and ethno-nationalist political movements. These movements, and the political demagogues who stoke them, threaten our democracies from within, as well as weaken our alliances and democracies’ capacity to counter the rising threat to the international order from authoritarian powers like China and Russia.

Learn More About the Heartlands Transformation Network

What’s New
Catch the latest insights into effective heartlands economic transformation.
- The Swedes Tried to Warn Us (Washington Monthly)
- Can Social Capital Save Places? (Cogito)
Articles and Reports
Guides for practitioners and policy-makers around effective heartland region economic renewal and community engagement.
- VOICES: Here's a Better Recipe to Close the Economic Chasm - Part 1 | Part 2 (PostIndustrial)
- Shared Effort Needed to Save Democracy (OECD)
- The Great Convergence: The Race to Save Democracy
- Foreign Policy: How to Finally Defeat Populism
- Brookings: To Counter Extreme Politics Revive Global Democracies Rust Belts
- Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Ruhr- Western Pennsylvania Transatlantic Dialogue Report
- Chicago Council on Global Affairs :It’s Not All a Silicon Valley: US Midwest Study tours
- National Interest: Regional Inequality Looms As Threat to Democracies
- Chicago Council on Global Affairs Paths for New Prosperity in Industrial Heartland Regions
- Washington Quarterly: Transforming Industrial Heartlands a Transatlantic Initiative
- Brookings: The Program That Can deliver for Red and Blue America he US policy agenda
- John Austin at the OECD: On Regional Economic development
- Bennett Institute: Policies for Places as Well as People
- Chicago Council on Global Affairs: From "Rust Belt" to "Trust Belt": Why the Language we Use Matters
- Das Progressive Zentrum: Beyond the Anger and Anxiety: Insights into the attitudes and actions that threaten democracies
- Our Towns Foundation: Regional Inequality Looms as Pressing Threat to Democracy
Media
Heartlands Transformation Network in the news.
- The Hill: In This Year of Elections, Democracy is Holding Its Own
- Our Towns Foundation: Paths to New Prosperity and a Better Politics in Our Democracies
- Postindustrial Podcast: Reimagining the Postindustrial Economy
- Foreign Policy: The Silver Lining of Biden's 'New Protectionism'
- OECD Cogito: The Return of Industrial Strategy: Why the US and Europe Need to Renew Heartland Communities
- National Interest: New Paths to Heartland Prosperity Can Change Our Politics
- Washington Monthly: It's the Respect (and Good Policies), Stupid
- National Interest: Healing America’s Fractured Politics Starts in the Industrial Heartland
- The Hill: How Democrats can rebuild their 'blue wall' in the Midwest
- Our Towns Foundation: Regional Inequality Looms as Pressing Threat to Democracy
- The Economist: The Flourishing Midwest
Projects and Events
Heartlands Transformation Network collaborative projects and events.
- Democracy Can Win at the Ballot Box (Jefferson Education Society)
- Transforming Heartland Regions – Transatlantic Convening Interactive Report
- Engaging Heartland Residents: Report from University of Michigan International Convening on Rebuilding Hope, Rebuilding Communities
- Transforming Industrial Heartlands Addressing Geographies of Discontent
- City Club of Cleveland
- How Democracy Defenders Win Elections: Jefferson Education Society
- Das Progressive Zentrum: Democratic Governance Summit, Berlin
- Global Summit: Jefferson Education Society Transforming Heartland Regions
Partners and Fellows
Partners
The Heartlands Transformation Network is a collaborative effort among leading transatlantic institutions and organizations to close regional economic divides and strengthen democracies.
Meet our Lead Partners:
- Including the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, the Brookings Institution, Georgetown University’s BMW Center for German and European Studies, Policy@Manchester at the University of Manchester, the Ruhr-Konferenz, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chicago, and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission, the OECD, and government officials in Mexico, Canada, US, UK, across Europe and beyond.
Fellows
The Heartlands Transformation Network is supported by a growing group of researchers and analysts contributing to the transatlantic practice and knowledge base, and alumni of the Network.
Meet the Fellows:
- Lucas Hagen, Chelsea Gaylord, Colleen Dougherty, Lukas Kreuzer, Jack Farrell, Markan Mawadi, Das Progressive Zentrum Fellows, Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College Fellows.
Join the Network
To join the Heartlands Transformation Network, get the initiative’s newsletter, and participate in events and learning exchanges, sign up here.
For more information contact John Austin, Senior Fellow, Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, jaustin@gettysburg.edu.