Volume 14 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

The paper focuses on the local delivery process of the LEADER programme over two programming periods (2007–2013 and 2014–2020). We tried to find out whether the LEADER method and projects implemented have contributed to the empowerment of the Brkini region (Slovenia), which has characteristics of a lagging and structurally weak region influenced by peripheralization processes. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of LEADER projects underlined that the Brkini region was quite successful in integrating different actors and sectors in joint projects and establishing cooperation between stakeholders. Cooperation is reflected in (1) partnerships and networking between existing and new actors and stakeholders, (2) LEADER funds being mostly used for “smaller projects” and networking within the region, (3) the synergies between LEADER and existing local aspirations as it supports several areas of the multi-sectoral approach (i.e., tourism promotion, agricultural production and processing), (4) enhanced recognisability and promotion of the Brkini region at sub-regional, regional, national and cross-border levels. In the context of empowerment, we were able to identify some incentives, but also some bottlenecks (local clubs/societies/associations lack institutional, administrative and financial capacity, etc.). Decision-makers should pay special attention to this and also promote a culture of reflexivity when preparing new animation strategies for the next programming period.

The last thirty years have radically changed the nature of local resource management in rural communities throughout Poland (as well as in some other Central and Eastern European countries). New metamorphosis, policy, and funding mechanisms related to Poland’s political transformation and accession to the European Union have radically changed the character of institutions and tools available in rural development. Local communities have evolved along with improved education levels, decline in agricultural employment rates, and increased migrations to cities and Western Europe. This article presents the social conditions for the good governance processes in a selected region of Poland. Based on their extended quantitative and qualitative research, the authors discuss a number of phenomena such as the low effectiveness of collective actions, dense networks of informal relations, and the lack of trust in public service institutions despite the deregulation of certain powers. The ethnographic study reveals that while their overall picture may seem quite uniform, local rural communities in Poland tend to differ depending on the economic structure, history, and cultural identity of their inhabitants. Finally, the article analyses difficulties in the implementation of the good governance mechanisms within the country’s local rural communities.

Relying on an interview-based research carried out in Szeklerland (Eastern Transylvania) between 2011 and 2020, the present study investigates the impact of the new rural development paradigm on the first level indicated by Van der Ploeg et al. (2000): changes in the relationship between agriculture and local society. The analysed region does not form an administrative unit, it is the eastern region of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy. It consists of rural settlements and small towns, the population of which is mostly of Hungarian ethnicity. More than half of the households have a small amount of land and are engaged in farming as their main or supplementary activity. Following a brief overview of the regional context, our paper analyzes the essential changes that have been taking place in the relationship between agriculture and the regional society over the last one or two decades. The focus of the analysis is how changes in the relationship between agriculture and the regional society appear in the innovative agricultural entrepreneurs’ practice and interpretations.

In this study, we aimed to overview the relationships of the most significant international theories dealing with the spatial economy, with special regard to the endogenous resources. We examined the effects and the development trends of economic and social capital because we believe that they may determine the future directions of strategic planning. Spatial capital (being the focus of our research) is proven to have outstanding influence on the society. In this study, we compare the development paths deriving from international models with the endogenous resources of rural space, considering the new development paths deriving from new paradigms. Based on all this, related to the most important international spatial economic theories, we define the strategic directions that are built on local endogenous resources, including the relations between tourism, infrastructure and environment.

Considering the settlement pattern in Slovenia, small towns with a population of 5,000 to 15,000 are very important for balanced regional and local development, especially for the achievement of sustainable development goals. This paper presents findings from a study of the level of sustainability in 32 Slovenian small towns, as assessed using a set of twelve economic, social, and environmental indicators of sustainable development. A comparison of the results for the years 2002 and 2018 shows that over the past two decades, Slovenian small towns have for the most part successfully advanced towards the goals of sustainable development. The small towns that lag behind in these efforts were identified, as were the development areas where sustainability trends are less favorable.

Methods for assessing regional food self-sufficiency are poorly developed worldwide, while knowledge of the characteristics of regional food self-sufficiency could help in designing more sustainable and resilient regional food systems. This paper addresses the challenge of defining and assessing food self-sufficiency at different geographical levels and provides a detailed presentation of the method for assessing the regional plant-based food self-sufficiency rate using publicly available data from administrative sources, taking the Slovenian development regions as an example. The results indicate the need to improve the reliability of the data used to identify the characteristics of regional food self-sufficiency and to a more effective coordination between existing agricultural databases.

If a country cannot secure a sufficient amount of quality food from the domestic market for various reasons, it is necessary to import it from abroad. This is the case in Slovakia, which lags behind the EU average in food self-sufficiency. Therefore, this contribution aims to point out the development of Slovakia’s food self-sufficiency in basic agro-commodities in the past two decades. We strive to do this by applying two approaches to self-sufficiency research – the land use approach and the production approach. While the first is based on assessing the availability of resources where agricultural production can be implemented, the second approach considers agricultural production, consumption and the foreign trade balance. The results show that although a few decades ago, Slovakia was a self-sufficient country in most agri-food commodities, at present, it is not self-sufficient even in the basic ones (such as vegetables, fruits, pork and poultry). The indicated trend of agro sector development conflicts with the Concept of Agricultural Development of the Slovak Republic for 2013–2020, the goal of which was to achieve food self-sufficiency at an 80% level by 2020. Later, therefore, we discuss what lies behind the success or failure of attaining food self-sufficiency in Slovakia and point to the complementarity of self-sufficiency goals at the EU and national levels.

Considering the multi-layered issues of rural peripheries and tourism development, we explore actors’ views regarding farm tourism development in the historical/geographical region of Lika. In spite of the fact that important flows of goods and services pass through Lika, it is largely regarded as a peripheral area. Via semi-structured interviews with tourist farm owners and institutional actors involved with farm and rural tourism, we examine how their views relate to characteristics associated with peripherality. In a setting with very few family farms that have developed a farm tourism product, the regional actors see both potential and limitations in characteristics linked to peripherality, general development trends, and local specificities.

Overtourism is relatively rare in rural regions of Czechia, in the form of lonely “hotspots” surrounded by areas that suffer from undertourism. Therefore, the article aims to analyse whether these hotspots could be used to develop tourism in the surrounding regions and whether it is a desirable and sustainable situation. The paper examines the reasons that lead to overtourism in the rural environment and explains the concept of three dimensions of overtourism: objective, subjective and temporal. Based on experience from overtourism-affected locations in Czechia, we describe how to know whether a site can be a positive center for tourism development and whether it is desirable or, conversely, dangerous for the surrounding region. We use data obtained through a questionnaire survey, narrative interviews with local people, and field research.

NomadTown a resilience hub based on learning for emergency prevention, positive impact creation, and adaptation is presented. The educative background of the sub-culture found there are outlined. A thick description of the educational milieu NomadTown is situated in is given. A contextualization of this milieu is provided with a Foucauldian awareness of the dispositif (apparatus). Whether the social ecology of associations, this resilience hub is becoming embedded in, is a suitable way to make the great transition needed to deal with climate change; and how organizational learning, manifesting as network learning, is taking place are considered. Such functioning connections are embodying the networked village concept of Nahrada’s Global Village Hypothesis. I conclude that working through connected networks, in NomadTown’s educational milieu, is an effective way to make change for resilience in our human survival situation when faced with climate change. However, NomadTown needs better connections to industry and government.