ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The empirical findings of this book support Checkel's view regarding theorising on integration, in that 'general theories of integration should be put aside in favour of partial frameworks with clearly specified micro-foundations be they economic or sociological'. When it comes to the functioning and integration of rural policy-making structures in the European Union (EU), it is fruitful to apply two mid-range approaches that complement each other, multi-level governance and structural constructivism. Structural constructivism as applied in this book helped in 'revealing the hidden power mechanisms' and served to demonstrate 'through what mechanisms political agents reproduce and transform the European political order'. The book shifted the focus on the actors embedded in rural governance structures, on their perceptions, their behaviour, their social characteristics and their economic, social, cultural and symbolic capitals.
