ABSTRACT
This chapter examines whether the four rural traditions: Agrarian, Naturalist, Mediterranean and Traditions of the margins find expression in socioeconomic changes in rural Europe. Agrarian traditions derive from a combination of elements including the role of farming within the national economy and the demographic significance of the agricultural population. More evident in the landscape, persistent agrarian traditions are woven into geographical structures in rural areas. The size of the farm workforce and a relatively poor farm performance also sets the four Mediterranean nations apart from other members of the European Commission (EC). Indeed, the strength of naturalist traditions reflects the importance that nations accord to non-productive uses of rural space, particularly in terms of their aesthetic, public health, amenity, leisure and life-style qualities. Rural traditions comprise one element of national effects that has to be put alongside short-term political expediency, existing socioeconomic conditions and the forces that arise from local and, more particularly, globalization trends.
