Publisher's Synopsis
The book sets out to discuss the various aspects of local responses to the globalization process, drawing from recent empirical work carried out in various countries in the world. Globalization is seen as an economic and social process which has taken a more pervasive form in contemporary society, leading to an increasing similarity of production and consumption patterns and a worldwide movement of products, people, services and cultures. Rural areas have undoubtedly experienced the impact of such a process by adopting new functions as both producers and consumer. Today, however,they are not characterized by uniformity; integration or resistance, being rather a reflection of their accumulated history. In this connection, the main argument of the book is that new rural development strategies emerge in response to both homogenization and marginalization processes. New forms of production and consumption of both goods have developed and localities, as specific social spaces, have put forward their own diversities. The book?s main features are its international empirical character and the multidimensional consideration of both potential and actual responses to global integration.
