ABSTRACT
Rural development continues to be employed as a tool for community participation and involvement. Although the objectives may have shifted from radical community development of the 1960s that sought to steal power from the state, current rural development programmes nonetheless seek to empower citizens. Rural development policy today expects that local communities are in a position to identify solutions to challenges arising in their area and to participate in activities that address these problems. In this respect they have agency and a degree of autonomy. As a result we see the increasing popularity of models of governance across the globe.
