Abstract
Rural Europe is confronted with a sustainability transition paradox. On the one hand, many rural regions across the country are
highly vulnerable to socio-demographic and environmental problems, including depopulation and climate change. On the other
hand, such vulnerability can be an opportunity for those regions to experiment with new, transformative initiatives of sustainable
development. There is evidence that such initiatives exist, mostly in the form of bottom-up, multistakeholder ventures; however,
we know little about how they compare with each other. This paper addresses the question of whether emerging initiatives share
commonalities with regard to their capacity to promote material and immaterial public goods via collective action. Theoretically,
the paper builds on institutional analysis to integrate the literature on collective action and leverage points. Methodologically, the
paper relies on a systematic review of 101 rural development initiatives organized along a spectrum of transformation potential.
We find that there is a strong connection between the transformational potential of the initiatives and their capacity to overcome
collective action challenges among local public and private agents and with public authorities at different governance levels. Most
recurrent forms of collective action could constitute leverage points in the governmental promotion of new initiatives.
highly vulnerable to socio-demographic and environmental problems, including depopulation and climate change. On the other
hand, such vulnerability can be an opportunity for those regions to experiment with new, transformative initiatives of sustainable
development. There is evidence that such initiatives exist, mostly in the form of bottom-up, multistakeholder ventures; however,
we know little about how they compare with each other. This paper addresses the question of whether emerging initiatives share
commonalities with regard to their capacity to promote material and immaterial public goods via collective action. Theoretically,
the paper builds on institutional analysis to integrate the literature on collective action and leverage points. Methodologically, the
paper relies on a systematic review of 101 rural development initiatives organized along a spectrum of transformation potential.
We find that there is a strong connection between the transformational potential of the initiatives and their capacity to overcome
collective action challenges among local public and private agents and with public authorities at different governance levels. Most
recurrent forms of collective action could constitute leverage points in the governmental promotion of new initiatives.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
