ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the themes of the book, structured around the key issue of the influence of the past in resource communities, an influence which in many ways is problematic, limiting the freedom of communities to imagine and navigate their own future. The real-world problems of many resource communities and post-resource communities are introduced, as well as the theoretical tools which will guide the analysis in later chapters. Governance is a key concept, as collective decision-making shows traces of the dominance of the resource, and that same governance system is the place where the future must be charted. We further introduce the idea of community strategy, as a way forward, and summarize the overarching narrative of the book.
