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groups, we define rural elites by their individual power position, not from being part of closed power networks. Although rural elites are not necessarily formal representatives of the community, they are expected to act on behalf of collective interests, and are thus influential as regards local development (Steen, 2009). We ask: How do Nordic rural elites link immigration to rural resilience, and what characterizes their perspectives across the Nordic countries? What roles do they ascribe to immigrants in co-producing rural resilience? We examine how rural elites address international in-migration in their place narratives, including aspects of promoting or restraining local development. Applying elite perspectives risks concealing problematic power dynamics and issues of community representation (see Varley & Curtin 2006). However, such perceptions of what is a good rural (multi-ethnic) community, and how immigrants are perceived in becoming part of the community, are relevant because of the elites' influencing capacities and roles as decision-makers. A Norwegian study shows that municipal decision-makers emphasize instrumental benefits and municipal self-interests, downplaying emotional fears that immigration might disturb the traditional ethnos in the local discourse (Steen, 2009). A recent study confirms that small municipalities are motivated to settle refugees because they increase the population (Søholt et al., 2018).

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