ABSTRACT
Over the last fifteen years or so, there has been a growing emphasis, in both European Union (EU) and national policies across Europe, on the promotion of 'culture', 'regions', and 'sustainable' development. This chapter introduces the discipline of European ethnology. From the late 1960s onwards, political and social discourse has become increasingly infused with notions of 'culture'. With the Maastricht Treaty, culture became, for the first time, a formal part of the EU policy framework, 'with subsequent modifications on the possible action in the cultural field'. The concept of 'endogenous development' reflects a Catholic social ethic founded on the principle of subsidiarity. In the regional context, this means responsibility should rest primarily with localities, organising themselves in associations that may or may not correspond to politically or otherwise defined geographical regions. Development is usually understood as 'change for the better'. There is always the possibility of 'no change', or 'change for the worse'.
