Résumé
Renewed political concern about geographical inequalities in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008 raises questions about the ability of the prevalent pre-crisis model of development to generate more spatially balanced and inclusive economies. In this article, we connect spatial polarisation and the 'geography of discontent' to the extended crisis of neoliberal capitalism after the 2008 crisis. The article provides a conjunctural analysis of spatial policy since the crash, viewing this period as one of economic stagnation, instability and turbulence. It interprets recent reorientations of spatial policy involving the adoption of new strategies for 'left-behind places' as part of an ongoing process of regulatory experimentation seeking to address discontent and spatial polarisation as symptoms of the legitimacy crisis of late neoliberalism. Thus far, we argue, such policies tend to treat the symptoms of 'left-behindness', rather than addressing the wider structural causes of decline and marginalisation, meaning that they are unlikely to reduce spatial inequalities and assuage discontent.