This research utilizes
the methods of geography, mathematics and political ecology to outline the
political areas and to define the profiles of political competition within the
region of Southwest Finland using parliamentary election results of the 2010s.

Additionally the
research investigates the areal concentration and dispersion of the support of
the parliamentary parties and the effect of regional level of aggregation to
the concentration of the political support.

These are our research
questions: (1) are there distinctive political areas in Southwest Finland? And
(2) can political areas of stable and instable competition patterns be
identified by investigating election results over time?

Using cluster analysis
and map visualizations we show that there are distinctive political areas of
competition to be found in contemporary Southwest Finland and that the map of
political support changes significantly on municipal and electoral district
levels.