Identity and cohesion as factors of local development: towards a better implementation of territorial policies

Abstract

This article analyses the complex relationships between socio-cultural features, local governance efficiency and development. After having given a few general empirical results on this topic, we present four case studies on small contrasted rural regions. The results show that a high identity and local cohesion do not guarantee the activation of a development process. However, these features are a necessary condition for a strong capacity of collective action to emerge, which is itself a condition for a sustainable development. These results provide several insights for improving the implementation of territorial policies. They suggest indicators for characterizing the sociological state of a region, and define different priorities according to these features.