The Trouble with Community

How 'Sense of Community' Influences Participation in Formal, Community-Led Organisations and Rural Governance

Bibliographic Data

ID4445893
AuthorsElizabeth Dinnie (0000-0001-8016-5961, Social Researcher Social, economic and geographical sciences The James Hutton Institute Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, corresponding author), A Fischer (0000-0002-0034-3690, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume60
Issue1
Pages243-259
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociologia Ruralis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0199 • E-ISSN: 1467-9523
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/soru.12273
OpenAlexW2974279690
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited33

The term community has proved to be remarkably resilient in rural policy-making, where it is used across a range of policy discourses. Policy narratives seldom acknowledge the multiple meanings associated with the term community; they therefore fail to make a distinction between community as it is experienced in everyday settings, and more formal community organising. However, policies and governance seeking to mobilise communities often rely on formal community organisations to represent the 'community' in multi-level governance partnerships. Following research with two rural communities in Scotland this article explores different experiences of community, and sense of community in place. We then look at what these understandings and experiences of community mean for the creation and maintenance of formal, community-led organisations, their inclusion in policies of community empowerment and resilience, and rural governance more widely

Business · Community building · Community engagement · Community organization · Community resilience · Corporate governance · Empowerment · Inclusion (mineral) · Narrative · Political science · Public relations · Rural community · Sense of community · Social science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Community Development and Social Impact · Law · Public Administration · Rural development and sustainability · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development