ABSTRACT
In the following chapter, we will summarise the findings in terms of the impact on LEADER of the tradition of democracy, or lack of such a tradition, in the countries investigated in this book. LEADER, as described in the introduction of this book, is the central element in European Union’s rural development policy since 1990’s and an important pioneering experiment of new ways of governance, in general. In this book we have asked whether LEADER has had a positive effect on democracy, especially in countries with an authoritarian tradition. While answering this question, we will also draw conclusions regarding the ultimate question; whether LEADER really improves the situation in rural areas or whether the benefits are rather reaped by those with power? We are aware of the problems in this endeavour and that the answers run the risk of being rather superficial. While the diversity of the individual case studies on EU’s rural policy does not allow a rigorous comparison of the results, we find it important to summarise the findings of these studies. Generally, to be able to answer the questions posed above we have to operate with two variables: the context, in terms of political traditions and practices that LEADER is implemented within, and the effects of LEADER work over time against the backdrop of this context.
