Knowledge, Power and Sustainability in Contemporary Rural Europe

Abstract

This article looks at the evidence given in the 'cognitive approach to rural sustainable development: the dynamics of expert and lay knowledge' research project of changing rural power relations in the context of sustainability and knowledge use in Europe. It explores what kinds of knowledge contribute to sustainable development in rural development projects and how they are created or empowered, according to the interest and capacity of the different actors involved. The article examines how actors interpret and negotiate the requirement of sustainability. It discusses how the idea and practice of sustainable development can build on local knowledge as a resource for generating activity and for commoditising local goods and service, looking at the potentials of sustainability projects for future rural development, the types of knowledge used in projects and their social sources, dynamics and social availability. It reviews the proliferating project form of management that locks actors into power relations connected to their capacity for knowledge use and discusses the pressure of urban demands on rural sustainability in the context of local autonomy. These issues are elaborated through a study of the interconnection of knowledge and power and the role of the actors in the creating and using knowledge. On the level of public policy, the authors identify the knowledge-power complex as an important factor of decision-making in rural policy and develop a critique of rural policy for its inadequate attention to the interconnection between knowledge, power and interest.

Knowledge in food tourism: the case of Lofoten and Maremma Toscana

“…The following discussion adopts a classification of knowledge as emerged in previous studies, in particular in Csurgò, Kovách, &Kuĉerová (2008) andFonte (2008). Local and scientific food knowledge, tourism knowledge, and local managerial and political knowledge are discussed, first individually and then focusing on their co-existence.…”

“…Nevertheless, contributions that can be relevant for the study of food tourism in a knowledge perspective can be found in other fields of study. A useful classification of knowledge from Rural Studies distinguishes between scientific knowledge, political and managerial knowledge, and local knowledge (Csurgò, Kovách, & Kuĉerová, 2008;Fonte, 2008). Scientific knowledge is a standardised form of knowledge deriving from research, and in the case of food it regards gastronomy.…”

“…The third sub-section discusses the presence and the roles of different types of knowledge. The discussion is based on secondary and primary data, and on a classification of knowledge and cooperation as emerged in previous studies, in particular in Csurgò, Kovách, & Kuĉerová (2008), Fonte (2008) and Hjalager (2002).…”

Can Forest Management in Protected Areas Produce New Risk Situations? A Mixed-Motive Perspective from the Dadia-Soufli-Lefkimi Forest National Park, Greece

“…What is needed for the promotion of effective local participation schemata and the organization of social consensus regarding natural resource management is power sharing between local people and experts (Arts & Buizer, 2009;Hovik et al, 2010). Unless this precondition is met, scientific experts will become so powerful in any type of deliberation process that local people or their interests will be excluded Lövbrand, 2009;Steffek, 2009) and the democratic legitimacy of the process will be severely undermined (Csurgó et al, 2008;Kleinschmit et al, 2009). An important barrier that has to be overcome in this respect is the restoration of trust between social actors with competing interests and powers.…”

Structures, inequalities and networks

“…A hagyományos, és végső soron minden esetben a foglalkozást figyelembe vevő egyenlőtlenség elemzések problematikusságára utal, hogy a szakma doyenjei sem publikáltak Kolosi Tamás Terhes babapiskóta című kötete (Kolosi 2000) után a teljes magyar társadalom egyenlőtlenségeire vonatkozó munkákat. A rétegződésről szóló alapkönyv szerzője, Ferge Zsuzsa saját maga tett több fontos kísérletet a rétegződési modell újraértelmezésére illetve az EGP modell kritikájára (Ferge 2002/b, 2006/b, 2008/b, . Tardos Róbert (2008 a foglalkozás alapú rétegződésvizsgálatok csökkenő magyarázó képességét annak tulajdonítja, hogy azok a foglalkozási kategóriákat rutinszerűen kezelik, miközben a hagyományosan alkalmazott kategóriák közül már több elveszítette tényleges kohéziós erejét.…”