ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the formal arena of power in rural areas. It looks at both overarching questions of governance and citizenship in the direction of rural regulation as well as more specific, local-level analyses of the practice and outcome of rural policy. The chapter focuses on the UK, with the examples emanating from UK-based research. It examines the gendered operation of power, as stated, at a number of different policy levels. It also combines theoretical and empirical material. The chapter draws on recent theoretical debate from the urban politics literature and discusses the broad questions of governance and regulation. It highlights the relevance of shifts in the nature of government to the relationship between gender and the policy process, before moving on to a more detailed examination of policy and implementation at the local level. The chapter explains the association, both empirical and conceptual, between women and community in the formulation and implementation of rural policy.
