(Un)local development – the dynamics and dissonances of Multi-level governance in the case of Leader in England

Abstract

This thesis is a case study of the European Union’s community-led local development programme Leader in England during the 2014 – 2020 programme period. The focus of the examination is governance, and in particular how the structural arrangements within a multi-level governance system present conditions for the emergence of hierarchy between local and national actors in the programme. This hierarchy is shown to be incompatible with the Leader ethos, a neo-endogenous form of rural development that should be driven by local actors. For the analysis of governance, Dion Curry’s multi-level governance theory is adopted to understand the relationship of structural and relational arrangements in the programme. In addition, this thesis provides an in-depth look at Leader, examining the programme through the lense of Christopher Ray’s Culture Economy typology. In order to provide a dynamic and practical analysis of Leader, the Culture Economy typology is connected to the theoretical tools of Curry’s multi-level governance theory. The materials for the thesis include EU legislation on Leader and interviews conducted with Leader’s local action group staff and fund beneficiaries in the summer of 2018. The findings suggest that the structure of the programme has allowed for hierarchy to emerge between the local and national actors, which is incongruent with the community-led objective of the programme.