Social capital in rural development projects in Europe – Three LEADER cases in Wallonia analysed

This article investigates the role in practice of social capital in the success and perennity of European rural development projects, taking three Walloon LEADER projects as case studies. In the context of rural areas, that carry innate characteristics – proximity, sense of community – social capital is expected to play an important role in the success or failure of development projects. Yet, in theory, social capital is mentioned by the European Commission only when referring to outputs of the approach, never as an input. By investigating three LEADER projects that were developed between 2007... Mehr ...