ABSTRACT

The concept of power is fruitful to explore the political dimension of rural development and gender issues in rural innovation. It is also assumed that different forms of social capital result in different types and forms of political participation. From the concept of 'family strategy' it can be explained why farm families are disposed or not disposed to accept the rules of policy-games and policies. Power as a capacity of social agents, agencies and institutions refers to the way in which the social and physical environment is maintained and transformed. Power as a relational phenomenon, refers to the fact that power is always exercised in interactions by actors, with relative capabilities, within the context of unintended or even unknown chains of interdependencies. Power as a structural/systemic phenomenon, refers to the structured asymmetries of resources as a result of specific structures of signification, legitimation, and domination in a certain context and period.