Social Cohesion, Neoliberalism, and the Entrepreneurial Community in Rural Saskatchewan

Abstract

Social cohesion has become a magic bullet that policy makers imagine will rescue communities from the ravages of the market. Behind the apparent cohesiveness of rural community, however, lies another reality. This article examines characteristics of social cohesion in two rural communities in Saskatchewan. Although new forms of cohesion are emerging, these communities are riven with cleavages along multiple axes. Some of these local divisions appear to be deepening with global and regional processes of socioeconomic transformation. Long-term crises lead to strategies and solutions that precipitate new problems. Ongoing practices of inclusion and exclusion affect the possibilities of development in these communities.

Individual and Community Factors Affecting Psychological Sense of Community, Attraction, and Neighboring in Rural Communities*

“…Some rural communities do much better than others providing us the opportunity to differentially explore the factors related to relative success. One factor that has been proposed for relative success has been social cohesion (Jaffe and Quark 2006).…”

“…Our focus is on rural communities: This study has no control group or comparison sample of urban communities that would allow generalizations about differences in cohesion in rural and urban areas. The social cohesion issue has been a concern for rural communities (Jaffe and Quark 2006). Choosing to research them here does not imply a belief that urban communities are not also interesting or important, merely that rural communities are valid topics of empirical investigation in their own right.…”

Amenities, Affluence, and Ideology: Comparing Rural Restructuring Processes in the US and Norway

“…Local stakeholders notice such changes but generally seem to accept them, and over time get used to them. This resonates with how, according to Jaffe and Quark (2006), ''neoliberalism demands that people think about their communities in a different way'' (p. 208). Fløysand and Jacobsen (2007), in their case study of the small town of Sogndal in rural western Norway and its use of the local football club as an engine for local development, similarly note that the ''[c]ommodification of the countryside also implies a new mentality among the involved actors'' and note how the regional development literature has stressed ''learning, knowledge, flexibility, networking, and innovation as essential features of regional restructuring'' (p. 209).…”

Social cohesion in rural Australia: Framework for conformity or social justice?

“…According to some, as policy it responds to the retraction of welfare state provision (Novy et al. ) and reflects neoliberal agendas by promoting entrepreneurial identities and communities (Jaffe ). Social cohesion in Europe is seen as responding to and replacing a “failed” multicultural experiment.…”