Local development and peripheralisation in rural areas of north-east Germany: what power do local stakeholders have?
Résumé
This presentation analyses the development strategies implemented in a context of peripheralization. More specifically, it focuses on three case studies from the Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-east Germany. As a whole, this Land can be considered peripheral, i.e. it combines migratory losses, economic decline, political dependence and stigmatisation (Kühn, Weck, 2013). In this presentation, we aim to show how the development strategies implemented by local stakeholders in these regions can ultimately contribute to reinforcing the situation of periphery. First, we consider the factors that limit the ability of local stakeholders to value their resources and build sustainable and effective development strategies for their territory, that is, their limited 'power to' (Kühn et al., 2016). Then, we analyse how inequalities can emerge within peripheral regions, with a hierarchy between places that again reproduces a centre-periphery relationship. Finally, we demonstrate how the development prospects of these areas are limited by the neoliberal functioning of German and European public rural development policies. This work is based on a mix of qualitative methodologies conducted over several months in the Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders, observation of local development meetings, analysis of public policies at different levels.
